Thaksin Jailed as Court Rules Hospital Stay Was Unlawful

Thailand's influential former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was sent to prison on Sept. 9 after the Supreme Court ruled that his time in hospital detention was an attempt to avoid jail, a major blow for a powerful family that has dominated politics for two decades.

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BANGKOK -

The polarizing billionaire had spent only a few hours in prison upon his return from 15 years of self-exile in August 2023, before he was hospitalized after complaining of heart trouble and chest pains, prompting widespread skepticism and public outrage.

His eight-year sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power was commuted to one year by the King, and Thaksin was released on parole after just six months, the entirety of which he had spent in the VIP wing of a hospital.

The judges said on Sept. 9 that Thaksin had no severe illness and could have been treated in jail, adding that both he and his doctors had intentionally prolonged his hospital stay.

"The defendant knew the facts or was aware the situation was not a critical emergency. The defendant only had a chronic condition that could be treated as an outpatient and did not require hospitalization," they said.