Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand’s Supreme Court on September 9 ruled that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must return to prison and serve one year in prison.
The court issued its ruling in a review of whether Thaksin’s stay in the private room of a police hospital from 2023 to early 2024 counted as time served towards an earlier prison sentence.
Thaksin, who had just returned from Dubai on September 8, was present at the court to hear the verdict, accompanied by his personal lawyer and several family members, including former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was recently removed from office.
The Supreme Court ruled that Thaksin must return to prison to serve the full one-year sentence, with no deduction for the 120 days he spent receiving treatment at the Police General Hospital.
The judges said Thaksin did not have a severe illness and his hospitalisation could not be counted as time served, adding the responsibility did not solely lie with doctors and that the former premier intentionally prolonged his hospital stay.
Thaksin was originally sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment in 2023 for fraud and abuse of power following his surprise return to Thailand after 15 years in exile. That sentence was commuted to one year by King of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn, and he was later released early due to his age./.
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