Justice Minister is awaiting a document that will support the decision to keep the former prime minister in the hospital for an additional 120 days.
PUBLISHED: January 6, 2024, at 18:50.
Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong anticipates a statement from the Department of Corrections explaining why it has permitted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to receive medical care outside of prison for more than 120 time next year.
After returning from years of self-imposed captivity abroad on August 22 of last year, Thaksin was admitted to a superior clinic on the 14th surface of the Police General Hospital only 13 days after being taken to Bangkok Remand Prison.
He was given an eight-year prison sentence for abuse of power and conflict of interest during his premiership due to 2006 on the day he arrived in Thailand, which was afterwards commuted to one month under a royal pardon.
According to Department of Corrections regulations, the prison captain and the medical professionals caring for the inmate must both give their consent before allowing a prisoner to leave the facility for longer than 120 days for health reasons. The department head must therefore give the prison main permission, and the justice minister must also be informed, according to Pol Col Tawee.
In response to growing calls for greater accountability in the handling of the situation, the minister claimed to have spoken with department director-general Sahakarn Petchnarin on Friday to get an update on Thaksin’s situation.
According to Pol Col Tawee, Mr. Sahakarn pledged to send a document outlining his views on the treatment of the former prime minister” to occur after this year.” The report would only provide a general explanation of the 74-year-old inmate’s health condition, he continued, due to persistent confidentiality laws.
Thaksin was recently diagnosed with hypertension, narrowed heart vessels, and hepatitis B, according to a physician who spoke with the House committee on police affairs. Since his medical entrance, he has undergone two surgical procedures for unidentified problems. Officials have said they wo n’t go into detail.
The commission announced last week that it may request the justice minister’s approval to personally visit Thaksin on January 12 at the hospital. According to Pol Col Tawee, he has not yet received any like request.
A justice government committee on custodial politics, which the minister seats, will soon meet to discuss how to put new rules into place that will allow more prisoners to be held outside of prison before their launch date.
The legislation, which was allegedly created to help reduce prison congestion, led some to believe that Thaksin was specifically intended to avoid serving his remaining expression, a state refuted by the authorities and the Department of Corrections.