PUBLISHED : 18 Jan 2024 at 04:00
Convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is eligible for parole and it will be left to the Bangkok Remand Prison to submit a request to this end to the Department of Corrections (DoC), a department official said.
Sitthi Sutivong, the DoC’s deputy director-general and spokesman, made the remarks at a press briefing held at the Justice Ministry to explain the issues related to Thaksin’s medical treatment outside prison.
He said Thaksin meets the criteria for parole as he is classified as a medium-grade prisoner who is over 70 years old and suffering from various illnesses.
However, the regulation requires that the prison director seek parole for inmates who do not have the right to do so themselves, Mr Sitthi said. Normally, this is done on a monthly basis.
Mr Sitthi said the director of Bangkok Remand Prison, where Thaksin was admitted on Aug 22 last year, had not requested parole for Thaksin yet.
There was no word on when he might do so.
”If Thaksin was released on parole, the DoC’s parole committee would consider whether Thaksin would be subject to electronic monitoring,” he said.
Mr Sitthi said one regulation also requires that if granted parole, the inmate would need ”a sponsor” who the inmate would live with.
The Department of Probation is responsible for verifying who is suited to become the sponsor of an inmate, Mr Sitthi said, adding that an inmate on parole must report to probation officials regularly and must stay within a specific area determined by the parole supervisor.
Somboon Muangklum, adviser to the justice minister, told a press conference that many parties were trying to verify whether Thaksin is really ill and if he is in a ward at the hospital.
He said a representative of the Ombudsman had visited the Police General Hospital and met Thaksin on the 14th floor of the hospital’s building.
Mr Somboon said he also believed Thaksin is still at the hospital and was not staying elsewhere as some people suspect.
Thaksin, 74, was admitted to Police General Hospital on his return to Thailand on Aug 22, and has been allowed by the DoC to stay on despite reaching the maximum number of 120 days allowed for inpatient care on Dec 22.
The DoC said last Thursday that it moved Thaksin to the hospital on Aug 23 because he needed ongoing treatment and observation for many illnesses that required close monitoring.
Upon Thaksin’s return from 15 years of self-imposed exile, the Supreme Court sentenced him to eight years in jail for three cases, but the sentence was commuted to just one year after he received a royal pardon.