The youngest daughter, Patongtarn, said Thaksin had severe symptoms when he contracted Covid-19 and this is still affecting his current state of health.
“Doctors control everything,” Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said today after visiting her father at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok.
According to Ms. Paetongtarn, Mr. Thaksin is still feeling tired and his current state of health is due to contracting Covid-19. During the time of infection with Covid-19, Mr. Thaksin had to stay in the hospital for a month, including 9 days in intensive care, lost 10 kg, his lungs were damaged. She believes that the police hospital medical team has the right to treat Mr. Thaksin, apart from the possibility of being transferred to a private hospital.
Patongtarn Shinawatra at a press conference at Pheu Thai party headquarters in Bangkok May 15. Image: AFP
Thaksin, 74, returned to Thailand on August 22 after 15 years in exile and was taken to the Supreme Court to hear his sentence. After the court sentenced him to eight years in prison, Mr. Thaksin was taken to the Bangkok Klong Prem Prison Complex Detention Center.
Thailand’s Department of Corrections said the former prime minister was transferred to a police hospital in the early hours of August 23 due to chest pain, high blood pressure and low blood oxygen levels. After 5 days of isolation, the hospital allows family members to visit the patient from August 28.
Doctors at the Thai Department of Corrections Hospital had previously examined and diagnosed Mr. Thaksin with four health problems related to heart, lungs, high blood pressure and spinal degeneration. Critics say Thaksin’s hospitalization is a ruse and demand evidence that the former prime minister has health problems.
Noting that Mr Thaksin could apply for a royal pardon, Paetongtarn said the decision was up to the former prime minister and the process would take a long time.
Nasty Thongplad, director of the Bangkok Detention Center, said on August 27 that Thaksin, like all prisoners, has the right to apply for a royal pardon and that he or his relatives will have to prepare the main reasons why it is worth doing so.
Applications for royal pardons will be sent from prison and prison officials will review the application before it is sent to the Department of Corrections. The application is then passed on to the Ministry of Justice, the Cabinet Office, and finally to the office of the King’s Private Secretary, who will invite the royal family to consider a pardon.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok August 22. Image: AFP
Like Tam (In accordance with Reuters, Thai PBS)