PUBLISHED: 15 Jan 2025 at 05: 10
The National Anti-Corruption Commission ( NACC ) will appoint advisers and a secretariat to oversee the fact-finding probe into former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra‘s extended hospital detention, NACC Secretary-General Sarote Phuengramphan said on Tuesday.
The agency’s action comes in response to its recent determination to investigate alleged misconduct by state officials in order to help Thaksin’s protracted hospital stay.
Among those targeted in the probe are Sahakarn Phetnarin, director-general of the Department of Corrections ( DoC ) and Pol Lt Gen Taweesilp Wechawitarn, chief of the Police General Hospital ( PGH).
According to Mr. Sarote, the committee will be in charge of conducting witness interviews and gathering evidence in accordance with NACC guidelines, and it will provide regular updates on its progress.
The exchange of Thaksin from Bangkok Remand Prison to the PGH is the subject of the inquiry. He spent about six weeks in a high-end hospital before becoming eligible for an earlier release. On February 18, 2013, he was released from the hospital and given parole.
First sentenced to eight decades across three instances, Thaksin’s expression was reduced to one year following royal leniency.
Due to widespread belief that Thaksin did not have any medical conditions that would allow him to be transferred to a doctor, questions have arose regarding his exchange.
Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong made a press conference on Tuesday to let the NACC do its thing now that the research is in progress.
He stated that while the government would totally cooperate with the investigation, data protection regulations must also be taken into account when requesting copies of Thaksin’s medical records.
Pol Col Tawee refuted fears that the research might lead to a more serious political turmoil or be used in a motion of no confidence in the government.
If the PGH didn’t find out about Thaksin’s extended remain as part of an investigation into the management of the matter by the Medical Council of Thailand, anti-Thaksin groups threatened to gather at Government House.
A government committee has requested complete information of Thaksin’s entrance, treatment, and care, as well as the names of all the doctors who treated him. The plea even covered files of procedure, details of medication prescribed, X-rays, and laboratory test results.