Report Doctor Tells Court 'Thaksin Could Have Returned to Prison Hospital Early'

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of MGR online

 

A doctor from the Police General Hospital told a court on Friday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra could have been returned to the Corrections Department hospital shortly after initial treatment. The statement comes amid allegations of preferential treatment during his prison sentence.

 

Pol Col Dr Chana Jongchokdee, examining Thaksin upon his prison transfer on 22 August 2023, testified at the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases. Despite Thaksin's health conditions, Dr Chana revealed that surgery was advised but declined by Thaksin, suggesting his condition stabilised quickly.

 

The court investigates whether Thaksin's prison sentence was executed fairly, following claims he didn't need six months at the police hospital. If mishandled, the court could demand his return to prison.

 

Dr Chana insisted that care met medical standards, though he lacked knowledge of transfer policies between prison and hospitals. He mentioned Thaksin appeared comfortable, sitting on a sofa rather than being bedridden.

 

Testimonies from five medical staff, including former and current hospital directors, supported Dr Chana's account. They clarified that Thaksin's 14th-floor room, previously used for Covid-19 patients, was one of the few available. Records from his shoulder tendon surgery indicated a potential discharge within seven days sans complications, reported the Bangkok Post.

 

The court will resume on 25 July to hear from the Medical Council of Thailand representatives.

 

Thaksin, 75, received an eight-year prison sentence, reduced to one year by a royal pardon, after his August 2023 return to Thailand. He avoided a prison night's stay, becoming parole-eligible after six months.

 

Inmates can receive treatment outside prison for up to 120 days, yet Thaksin's hospital stay extended to 180 days, justified by potential life-threatening prison conditions, says the Department of Corrections.

 

A parliamentary committee was informed in November that Thaksin covered all expenses for his six-month hospital stint, including 8,500 baht per night for a VIP room on the 14th floor.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-07-19

 

 

[Pouatchee]

life threatening shoulder tendon? bet it's what connects his lego head to the rest of his body. refused surgery? definitely life threatening

[Lucky Bones]

Cortisone jab. Fixed. Back to your cage.🙃🙃

[dinsdale]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

A doctor from the Police General Hospital told a court on Friday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra could have been returned to the Corrections Department hospital shortly after initial treatment.

No doubt but that wasn't the deal.

[BayArea]

 

 

 

We have seen some bs pictures on his so-called illness ever since he came back to LOS, but the picture above is by far the most insulting and despicable of them all from this pathetic weasel!!

[Thingamabob]

Reportedly 'his condition subsided quickly'. It certainly did. Question is, what condition ?

[TheFishman1]

Everybody knows the fix was in it has been any jail time finished everything in six months after partying the day before he came back to Thailand with his buddies and Cambodia TIT

[khunPer]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Inmates can receive treatment outside prison for up to 120 days, yet Thaksin's hospital stay extended to 180 days, justified by potential life-threatening prison conditions, says the Department of Corrections.

 

A parliamentary committee was informed in November that Thaksin covered all expenses for his six-month hospital stint, including 8,500 baht per night for a VIP room on the 14th floor.

So, if in Thai prison, a bad shoulder and payment for VIP room can make the otherwise unpleasant stay a bit more pleasant – kind of crying on the backseat in a Rolls Royce...

[riverhigh]

Thaksin received preferential treatment. Back to a real jail, pops. 

[hotchilli]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Pol Col Dr Chana Jongchokdee, examining Thaksin upon his prison transfer on 22 August 2023, testified at the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases. Despite Thaksin's health conditions, Dr Chana revealed that surgery was advised but declined by Thaksin, suggesting his condition stabilised quickly

So much for being in a critical condition that required 6 months in hospital.

He declined surgery is an admission of guilt.

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

life threatening shoulder tendon? bet it's what connects his lego head to the rest of his body. refused surgery? definitely life threatening

If he walks free after this you know the system is rigged.

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Reportedly 'his condition subsided quickly'. It certainly did. Question is, what condition ?

Incarceration phobia

[renaissanc]

Send Thaksin to jail. He scammed the system. But if a foreigner had done this s/he would have been deported. Maybe he should be deported (to Dubai).

[Scouse123]

I can't believe the country is still dwelling on this.

 

He played the system and probably bribed plenty.

 

It is unrealistic anyway to suggest he should be placed in a normal prison, bearing in mind his former status as PM and his War on Drugs.

[Bruce Aussie]

35 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

If he walks free after this you know the system is rigged.

Really you think that it rigged and corrupt, I don't think is possible 🤣🤣🤣😂

[quake]

2 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

I can't believe the country is still dwelling on this.

 

He played the system and probably bribed plenty.

 

It is unrealistic anyway to suggest he should be placed in a normal prison, bearing in mind his former status as PM and his War on Drugs.

 

The war on drugs.

Was a very dark time for Thailand under Thaksin rule. 

[Reddavy]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy of MGR online

 

A doctor from the Police General Hospital told a court on Friday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra could have been returned to the Corrections Department hospital shortly after initial treatment. The statement comes amid allegations of preferential treatment during his prison sentence.

 

Pol Col Dr Chana Jongchokdee, examining Thaksin upon his prison transfer on 22 August 2023, testified at the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases. Despite Thaksin's health conditions, Dr Chana revealed that surgery was advised but declined by Thaksin, suggesting his condition stabilised quickly.

 

The court investigates whether Thaksin's prison sentence was executed fairly, following claims he didn't need six months at the police hospital. If mishandled, the court could demand his return to prison.

 

Dr Chana insisted that care met medical standards, though he lacked knowledge of transfer policies between prison and hospitals. He mentioned Thaksin appeared comfortable, sitting on a sofa rather than being bedridden.

 

Testimonies from five medical staff, including former and current hospital directors, supported Dr Chana's account. They clarified that Thaksin's 14th-floor room, previously used for Covid-19 patients, was one of the few available. Records from his shoulder tendon surgery indicated a potential discharge within seven days sans complications, reported the Bangkok Post.

 

The court will resume on 25 July to hear from the Medical Council of Thailand representatives.

 

Thaksin, 75, received an eight-year prison sentence, reduced to one year by a royal pardon, after his August 2023 return to Thailand. He avoided a prison night's stay, becoming parole-eligible after six months.

 

Inmates can receive treatment outside prison for up to 120 days, yet Thaksin's hospital stay extended to 180 days, justified by potential life-threatening prison conditions, says the Department of Corrections.

 

A parliamentary committee was informed in November that Thaksin covered all expenses for his six-month hospital stint, including 8,500 baht per night for a VIP room on the 14th floor.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-07-19

 

 

Shock horror. Never. 😱😱

[parallelman]

Okay, so 8 years to 1 year via Royal Pardon. What does that actually mean? What does that 1 year represent in terms of the charge agaist him? Is it like a Supreme Court saying 'Yes, guilty but 8 years is too much'? Does it mean he is guilty of some charges but not others? Does that 1 year mean that he is not allowed to play politics? Obviously all a misunderstanding n my part

[ozz1]

Every man and his dog know what happened it's money can buy your way out of anything in Thailand it's corruption at the highest level

[WHansen]

In an ideal world, he gets banged up and his daughter has to resign.

[lavender19]

I don't know why they are spending so much time and money on this. Because everyone knows not a fkin thing will happen to him

[Hunz Kittisak]

Saying something that everyone knew all along.

Why bother with the witch hunt? 
 

[Hunz Kittisak]

2 hours ago, parallelman said:

Okay, so 8 years to 1 year via Royal Pardon. What does that actually mean? What does that 1 year represent in terms of the charge agaist him? Is it like a Supreme Court saying 'Yes, guilty but 8 years is too much'? Does it mean he is guilty of some charges but not others? Does that 1 year mean that he is not allowed to play politics? Obviously all a misunderstanding n my part

A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction.^[1][2]

Pardons can be viewed as a tool to overcome miscarriage of justice, allowing a grant of freedom to someone who is believed to be wrongly convicted or subjected to an excessive penalty.^[3][4]The second-best theory of pardons views pardons as second-best to fair justice.^[5] Pardons can be granted in many countries when individuals are deemed to have demonstrated that they have "paid their debt to society", or are otherwise considered to be deserving of them. In some jurisdictions of some nations, accepting a pardon may implicitlyconstitute an admission of guilt; the offer is refused in some cases. Cases of wrongful conviction are in recent times more often dealt with by appeal rather than by pardon; however, a pardon is sometimes offered when innocence is undisputed in order to avoid the costs that are associated with a retrial. Clemency plays a critical role when capital punishment exists in a jurisdiction.

Pardons can also be a source of controversy, such as when granted in what appears to be a political favor.^[6] The arbitrariness^[5] and limited political accountability^[7] of pardons have been criticized.

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, Hunz Kittisak said:

 

A pardon is a government decision

From the OP: "reduced to one year by a royal pardon"

[fondue zoo]

2 hours ago, lavender19 said:

I don't know why they are spending so much time and money on this. Because everyone knows not a fkin thing will happen to him

 

Because humans are unwise and need stupid theater.

[crazykopite]

The public are not fools all this was planned before he returned to Thailand otherwise he would have remained in Dubai 

[Dogmatix]

Clearly he didn't need to go to  the police hospital in the first place.  He was not a medical emergency or even sick.  Since he faked illness and bribed officials, his pardon should reversed and he should serve his full 8 year sentence plus whatever the court gives him for his LM case.  Then the country might be free at last from his long list of dopes installed as nominee PMs and his disastrous economic policies - handouts, landbridges, casinos, half half travel and the like - while the economy goes from bad to worse.

[Luuk Chaai]

19 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

I can't believe the country is still dwelling on this.

 

He played the system and probably bribed plenty.

 

It is unrealistic anyway to suggest he should be placed in a normal prison, bearing in mind his former status as PM and his War on Drugs.

He is a man of the people ...   "GEN POP"  is where he belongs !  among the people !

and nothing but the finest of cuisine,,   perhaps French !    tête de poissonhttps://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQz8oou40SR7j8Yaz6pS3QcPXFkaFMr4TiyvQ&s

and of course designer clothing 

[Aussie999]

20 hours ago, hotchilli said:

If he walks free after this you know the system is rigged.

Um, we already know it's rigged

[hotchilli]

35 minutes ago, Aussie999 said:

Um, we already know it's rigged

Knowing it is one thing, publicly confirming it is another.