The Supreme Court of Thailand has decided on Tuesday that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to serve a year in prison for his illegal arrest of a hospital VIP wing, in another turn to a family that has dominated politics for two decades.
Judges said Thaksin did not suffer from serious illness and that his hospitalization could not be accounted for as length of service, adding that responsibility was not exclusive to doctors and that the billionaire intentionally prolonged their hospitalization.
Upon returning 15 years of self-imposed exile in 2023, Thaksin spent only a few hours in prison before being transferred to the hospital, complaining of heart problems and chest pain, generating widespread skepticism and public outrage.
His eight -year sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power was switched to a year by the king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, and was released on parole after only six months, the totality of which he spent in the vip wing of a hospital.
Thaksin, 76, an imposing and controversial figure, served as Prime Minister of 2001 until he was deposed by a military coup in 2006. He returned to Thailand dramatically by 2023, after 15 years of self-imposed exile, and was sentenced to eight years in prison for conflict of interest, abuse of power and corruption during his mandate.
(With information from CNN International)
