PUBLISHED: 4 Sep 2024 at 05: 07
Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong has said the Department of Corrections (DoC) has no authority to demand CCTV footage from the Police General Hospital, where former prime ministerThaksin Shinawatrawas previously hospitalised.
Pol Col Tawee was responding to a debate between the Sari Ruam Thai Party chief Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves and the DoC director-general regarding whether Thaksin received special care while he was being held in custody on the hospital’s 14th surface.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission ( NACC ) is looking into the matter, according to Pol Col Tawee, who stated that the issue is being looked into by the NACC.
He claimed that a confinement order is issued after one of three services is chosen. It could be a jail, medical, or other area of confinement as allowed by the governmental regulations.
The word “other places of incarceration” may refer to any security company that can provide areas of confinement, he said, adding that such an income was expected to jails being overcrowded.
Regarding Thaksin’s particular care, Pol Col Tawee said the DoC has provided information to several organizations probing the problem.
He noted that the state under former top Srettha Thavisin had not yet taken office when Thaksin returned to Thailand in August of last year.
When questioned if CCTV footage had been given to the NACC, he responded that it belonged to the Police General Hospital, so the inquiry may be directed to the doctor.
The Justice Ministry has no power to mount CCTV cameras at any established building outside of its purview, he said, even though inmates detained at another incarceration facilities are still under the control of the DoC.
The justice minister cited Pol Gen Sereepisuth’s claim that he had visited Thaksin twice while he was in hospital and another that Thaksin’s medical condition did n’t match what was reported as saying that the DoC and the ministry were prepared to speak with him.
Dr Sompop Sangkutkaew, assistant DoC director-general and a ministry official, insisted Thaksin was supervised by DoC officials around the clock during his stay at the doctor. Many groups of soldiers took turns on transitions, totalling 100 officials, he said.
The DoC has not yet decided whether to reimburse Pol Gen Sereepisuth for his state that there were no guards there while he was visiting Thaksin, not to mention that Pol Gen Sereepisuth’s title was not included as a guest.
In addition, previous Democrat MP Watchara Phetthong wrote to DoC director-general Sahakarn Petchnarin on Tuesday asking for a list of Thai Remand Prison officials who had been in charge of overseeing Thaksin, a copy of their achievement information, and a version of their pay from August 23, 2023, to February 18.