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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asi...tra-jail-1-year-verdict-hospital-stay-5339256
Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra poses with his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra as they arrive at the Supreme Court in Bangkok on Sep 9, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha)
09 Sep 2025 12:11PM(Updated: 09 Sep 2025 05:43PM)
Thailand's influential former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was sent to prison on Tuesday (Sep 9) after the supreme court ruled 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.
The polarising billionaire had spent only a few hours in prison upon his return from 15 years of self-exile in August 2023 before he was hospitalised after complaining of heart trouble and chest pains, prompting widespread scepticism and public outrage.
His eight-year sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power while prime minister from 2001 to 2006 was commuted to one year by the king and Thaksin was released on parole after just six months of detention, the entirety of which he had spent in the VIP wing of a hospital.
The judges on Tuesday said the 76-year-old had no severe illness and could have been treated in jail, adding 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 hospitalisation," it said.
The court then ordered that he be jailed for a year.
Thaksin was seen at the court removing his jacket and getting into a corrections department van.
The van carrying Thaksin was seen arriving at a Bangkok jail less than an hour after a ruling that has gripped the country, the latest drama in two weeks of political chaos that saw the fall of another Thaksin-backed populist government.
Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is escorted into a police van outside the supreme court in Bangkok on Sep 9, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Thai News/Panumas Sanguanwong)
"Today, I may no longer have freedom, but have freedom of thought to create benefit for the country and people," Thaksin said in a statement on Facebook.
"I will stay strong physically and mentally, spend time to serve the king, country and Thai people."
Speaking to reporters outside the court, his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra decried the ruling, adding that Thaksin was the first Thai prime minister to go to prison despite the "good he has done for the country".
"My dad has created history for the country, including useful policies that benefited the people," she told the media.
"Today is another historic day where he is the first prime minister to go to jail. This is quite heavy."
She also expressed concern for his health given the new circumstances and thanked the king for previously commuting her father's sentence.
“It's quite tough, but of course we are still in a good spirit, both my father and our family."
A political ally of Thaksin who was in the courtroom said he took the decision well.
"He still has the fighting spirit, he told me he came back (from overseas) and was ready to face any situation, whether it's good or bad," Kokaew Pikulthong, a lawmaker for the Pheu Thai party, told reporters.
A group of Thaksin supporters had gathered outside the court for the ruling, wearing the red colours of his populist political movement.
Ounruen Phongern told AFP she accepted the ruling.
"I will wait for him - one year is not that long," the 61-year-old pledged.
The ruling came just days after the Pheu Thai party was ousted from top office, with Paetongtarn felled by a Constitutional Court ruling she breached ministerial ethics in a border spat with Cambodia.
Titipol Phakdeewanich, a political science professor at Ubon Ratchathani University, said that despite the jailing and Shinawatra family's declining influence, the indomitable Thaksin would still attempt to call the shots in politics.
"Even with the one-year sentence, it doesn't mean that he would completely withdraw from politics. He'll still likely play a role within Pheu Thai," he said.
"I still have doubts that he would spend the whole year in jail, as there are still legal ways to cut his sentence. And we have seen that he did try everything to stay out of jail."
Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at the Supreme Court in Bangkok on Sep 9, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwamrumpha)
Days of chaos ensued before Paetongtarn's government fell on Friday, outmanoeuvred by challenger Anutin Charnvirakul, who was elected premier by parliament in a humiliating defeat for Thaksin's once unstoppable Pheu Thai party.
Thaksin landed back home on Monday after leaving Thailand last week, quelling speculation that he had absconded from the inquiry.
In a post on X, Thaksin said he left Thailand for a medical check-up in Singapore, but that his plane was diverted to Dubai because of an airport closure.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at the supreme court in Bangkok, Thailand, Sep 9, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha)
Last month, a royal insult case against him was dismissed after a court cited insufficient evidence to prove any wrongdoing.
The case stemmed from a 2015 media interview Thakisin gave during his long stint in self-imposed exile. It was brought by the country's royalist military that ousted both Thaksin and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra from power in coups in 2006 and 2014, respectively.
Thaksin had faced a jail term of up to 15 years.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of political science and international relations at Chulalongkorn University, told CNA's Asia Now that Thaksin has "lost moral high ground" and investors will now be thinking twice about going into Thailand.
"I think if this has gone on for a year or two, even five years, it would have been manageable, perhaps - the perceptions. But I think after years, two decades, some people are losing hope that Thailand could be a Teflon again," Thitinan said, referring to Thailand's ability to bounce back from knocks.
"Somehow, there has to be some compromise and accommodations that the established centres of power ... must reconcile with the forces of modernisation, of progress and reform," he added.
"Otherwise, Thailand will never see stability and predictability again, and (it will be) kind of off limits for a lot of investors."
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Thai ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra jailed as court rules hospital stay unlawful
The ruling is another major blow for the powerful Shinawatra family that has dominated politics for two decades.
Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra poses with his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra as they arrive at the Supreme Court in Bangkok on Sep 9, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha)
09 Sep 2025 12:11PM(Updated: 09 Sep 2025 05:43PM)
Thailand's influential former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was sent to prison on Tuesday (Sep 9) after the supreme court ruled 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.
The polarising billionaire had spent only a few hours in prison upon his return from 15 years of self-exile in August 2023 before he was hospitalised after complaining of heart trouble and chest pains, prompting widespread scepticism and public outrage.
His eight-year sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power while prime minister from 2001 to 2006 was commuted to one year by the king and Thaksin was released on parole after just six months of detention, the entirety of which he had spent in the VIP wing of a hospital.
The judges on Tuesday said the 76-year-old had no severe illness and could have been treated in jail, adding 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 hospitalisation," it said.
The court then ordered that he be jailed for a year.
Thaksin was seen at the court removing his jacket and getting into a corrections department van.
The van carrying Thaksin was seen arriving at a Bangkok jail less than an hour after a ruling that has gripped the country, the latest drama in two weeks of political chaos that saw the fall of another Thaksin-backed populist government.
Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is escorted into a police van outside the supreme court in Bangkok on Sep 9, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Thai News/Panumas Sanguanwong)
"I WILL STAY STRONG": THAKSIN
Thaksin said that he accepted the court's decision."Today, I may no longer have freedom, but have freedom of thought to create benefit for the country and people," Thaksin said in a statement on Facebook.
"I will stay strong physically and mentally, spend time to serve the king, country and Thai people."
Speaking to reporters outside the court, his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra decried the ruling, adding that Thaksin was the first Thai prime minister to go to prison despite the "good he has done for the country".
"My dad has created history for the country, including useful policies that benefited the people," she told the media.
"Today is another historic day where he is the first prime minister to go to jail. This is quite heavy."
She also expressed concern for his health given the new circumstances and thanked the king for previously commuting her father's sentence.
“It's quite tough, but of course we are still in a good spirit, both my father and our family."
A political ally of Thaksin who was in the courtroom said he took the decision well.
"He still has the fighting spirit, he told me he came back (from overseas) and was ready to face any situation, whether it's good or bad," Kokaew Pikulthong, a lawmaker for the Pheu Thai party, told reporters.
A group of Thaksin supporters had gathered outside the court for the ruling, wearing the red colours of his populist political movement.
Ounruen Phongern told AFP she accepted the ruling.
"I will wait for him - one year is not that long," the 61-year-old pledged.
The ruling came just days after the Pheu Thai party was ousted from top office, with Paetongtarn felled by a Constitutional Court ruling she breached ministerial ethics in a border spat with Cambodia.
Titipol Phakdeewanich, a political science professor at Ubon Ratchathani University, said that despite the jailing and Shinawatra family's declining influence, the indomitable Thaksin would still attempt to call the shots in politics.
"Even with the one-year sentence, it doesn't mean that he would completely withdraw from politics. He'll still likely play a role within Pheu Thai," he said.
"I still have doubts that he would spend the whole year in jail, as there are still legal ways to cut his sentence. And we have seen that he did try everything to stay out of jail."
Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at the Supreme Court in Bangkok on Sep 9, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwamrumpha)
POLITICAL RECKONING
Thaksin's entourage is facing a period of political reckoning after his daughter and protegee Paetongtarn was sacked as prime minister by a court 11 days ago - the sixth premier from or backed by the Shinawatra family to be removed by the judiciary or military.Days of chaos ensued before Paetongtarn's government fell on Friday, outmanoeuvred by challenger Anutin Charnvirakul, who was elected premier by parliament in a humiliating defeat for Thaksin's once unstoppable Pheu Thai party.
Thaksin landed back home on Monday after leaving Thailand last week, quelling speculation that he had absconded from the inquiry.
In a post on X, Thaksin said he left Thailand for a medical check-up in Singapore, but that his plane was diverted to Dubai because of an airport closure.
Last month, a royal insult case against him was dismissed after a court cited insufficient evidence to prove any wrongdoing.
The case stemmed from a 2015 media interview Thakisin gave during his long stint in self-imposed exile. It was brought by the country's royalist military that ousted both Thaksin and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra from power in coups in 2006 and 2014, respectively.
Thaksin had faced a jail term of up to 15 years.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of political science and international relations at Chulalongkorn University, told CNA's Asia Now that Thaksin has "lost moral high ground" and investors will now be thinking twice about going into Thailand.
"I think if this has gone on for a year or two, even five years, it would have been manageable, perhaps - the perceptions. But I think after years, two decades, some people are losing hope that Thailand could be a Teflon again," Thitinan said, referring to Thailand's ability to bounce back from knocks.
"Somehow, there has to be some compromise and accommodations that the established centres of power ... must reconcile with the forces of modernisation, of progress and reform," he added.
"Otherwise, Thailand will never see stability and predictability again, and (it will be) kind of off limits for a lot of investors."
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