Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has completed the first 30 days of his one-year sentence at Klongprem Central Prison and remains in good spirits, his family said on Thursday.
‘His mental health is strong. It has been about a month now. My father did mention about numbness in his fingers,’ his daughter Pintongta Shinawatra Kunakornwong said after a visit.
Ms Pintongta, her husband Nuttaphong Kunakornwong, and Pidok Sooksawas, husband of former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, visited Thaksin at the prison on Ngam Wong Wan Road in Chatuchak district of Bangkok for more than an hour.
Mr Nuttaphong said his father-in-law’s morale remained high. He added that Thaksin had been informed of a visit by his former classmates from Montfort College in Chiang Mai, and had expressed his gratitude.
Reporters said they had heard some people gathered outside the prison teasingly refer to Mr Nuttaphong as ‘the next prime minister’. They asked his wife if she had heard the comments but the couple just smiled bashfully and declined to respond.
Earlier, the Pheu Thai Party hinted at its intention to approach Mr Nuttaphong about being a party prime ministerial candidate in the next general election.
Red-shirt supporters also continued to gather outside the prison to offer their encouragement to the billionaire.
‘We came from Si Sa Ket to show our support. We will fight in the next general election and wait for you. Stay strong, our prime minister,’ one supporter said, smiling and glancing at Mr Nutthaphong.
The family responded with respectful gestures and posed for photos with the crowd. Mr Pidok also received a warm response from the red-shirt supporters.
Reporters also asked Ms Pintongta for her views on the opinion given by Justice Minister Rutthaphon Naowarat about Thaksin’s second petition for a royal pardon, but she declined to answer and quickly left the prison grounds.
Pol Lt Gen Rutthaphon said on Wednesday that he had reviewed the pardon request submitted on Thaksin’s behalf and concluded it did not meet the legal criteria, citing multiple reasons. He declined to disclose further details.
The Supreme Court on Sept 9 sentenced Thaksin, 76, to prison, ordering him to actually serve the one-year imprisonment sentence handed down two years ago for abuse of power and conflict of interest while serving as prime minister from 2001-06.
The court rejected Thaksin’s previous claims of illness that had allowed him to stay in a VIP room at Police General Hospital from his return to Thailand in August 2023 until his parole in early 2024.
14th floor update
In a related development, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) said it would expand its investigation into the ’14th floor case’, as Thaksin’s hospital stay has come to be known.
Surapong Intharathorn, the acting NACC secretary-general, said the panel has already questioned 12 civil servants linked to the case. However, two new people have since been implicated, with the investigation divided into two periods: Thaksin’s 180-day medical stay and the period following his parole.
Asked whether Thaksin himself would be named as a new suspect, Mr Surapong said the former premier was already serving a sentence in the original case.
‘The issue is whether the consequences of the earlier case extend to this new one,’ he said. ‘The inquiry panel must determine if he bears responsibility under the law, as he was not previously investigated in this matter.
‘While he did not directly commit an offence in this case, it will be up to the inquiry panel to decide.’
The Thaksin ruling was considered by many to be historic because it is rare for the Supreme Court to initiate its own inquiry. But Mr Surapong said such proceedings were not abnormal and were consistent with established judicial practice.
‘The court has authority to investigate facts, and while it may seem unusual to outsiders, it is within the bounds of legal procedure,’ he said.