Due to worsening health, he was imprisoned in a special VIP hospital room.
Parole after commutation… Released after half a year
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (75), who was imprisoned immediately after returning home after 15 years of exile overseas, was actually released without spending a night in prison. Former Prime Minister Thaksin, who has been staying in a police hospital due to deteriorating health, was recently put on the parole list and will be free around the 17th or 18th, the 6th month of his imprisonment.
According to Thailand’s Thai PBS, the Thai Ministry of Justice announced on the 13th, “We have confirmed 930 inmates eligible for parole, including the elderly and patients,” and added, “Former Prime Minister Thaksin is included in the list.” Former Prime Minister Thaksin was taken to court immediately after returning to Korea in August last year, sentenced to eight years in prison, and imprisoned in Bangkok’s Lehmand Prison. However, on the day he was imprisoned, he was transferred to the police hospital under the judgment of medical staff.
Former Prime Minister Thaksin is known to have stayed in the VIP room at the police hospital until now. His exact health condition was also not disclosed to the outside world, raising suspicions of preferential treatment. Moreover, after 10 days of the prime minister’s imprisonment, the royal family commuted his sentence to one year, saying he had “showed loyalty to the monarchy and respect for the judicial system.”
Justice Minister Tawi Sotsong emphasized, “Former Prime Minister Thaksin, who is over 70 years old, suffers from a serious illness and has served six months of his one-year sentence,” adding, “There is no problem as he meets the criteria for parole.” Previously, in December last year, Thai correctional authorities introduced a new rule that prisoners over 70 years of age or with health problems are eligible for parole. The state of hospitalization was also judged to be imprisonment, and former Prime Minister Thaksin was deemed to have served more than half of his sentence. Accordingly, former Prime Minister Thaksin is scheduled to be released on parole on the 17th or 18th.
Some are criticizing whether the new regulations introduced by the correctional authorities in December last year in the name of alleviating prison overcrowding were intended for former Prime Minister Thaksin.
Former Prime Minister Thaksin returned to Korea after 15 years of flight abroad on August 22 last year, when Theta Tawisin of the pro-Thaksin party was elected prime minister. The current leader of the Pua Thai Party is Thaksin’s youngest daughter, Phae Thong Thanh. Prime Minister Seta said, “Parole is entirely in accordance with the regulations,” adding, “Thaksin has done a lot of good things for the country as prime minister for a long time. “He will become an ordinary citizen after parole,” he said.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.