Was former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra so sick that authorities had no choice but to allow him to serve out his sentence at the Police General Hospital? Did the treatment accorded to him reflect the double standards in the country's justice system?
These are just some of the lingering questions that the public wants answered when the Medical Council convenes on April 10.
The council is scheduled to discuss the results of its investigation into whether or not the hospital's medical personnel committed ethical violations in allowing the convicted former PM to stay in a suite on the hospital's 14th floor until his sentence ran out.
Thaksin's controversial stay at the hospital was the subject of the most recent censure debate that targeted PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
During the debate, People's Party MP Rangsiman Rome pointed out that Thaksin appeared healthy when he arrived at Don Mueang airport on Aug 22, 2023, after almost two decades in self-imposed exile.
He noted the secretive manner in which Thaksin was transferred to the PGH from the Corrections Department's hospital on his first night in prison, over complications related to Covid-19 along with various other ailments.
Mr Rangsiman also claimed that Ms Paetongtarn was fully aware of a secret deal -- known as the Langkawi deal -- with then-PM Prayut Chan-o-cha that paved the way for Thaksin's return and the eventual reduction of his sentence from eight years in prison to just one year by royal clemency.
In response to Mr Rangsiman's claims, Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong denied Thaksin was accorded special privileges. He claimed that he was bound by the constitution to provide medical treatment to any inmate who needed it, not just Thaksin.
He also said that the 14th-floor room in which Thaksin stayed was not a premium ward as previously claimed, but a detention ward for sick inmates, in a bid to counter allegations that the ex-PM didn't even spend a full day behind bars after he was convicted.
Despite the heated exchanges in parliament, to this day, no one can say for sure if Thaksin was actually sick or not.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission, which is also probing the case, is unlikely to be able to shed light on the matter.
After agreeing to investigate the matter a few months ago, it has made very little progress -- prompting public suspicions that the anti-graft body is nothing but a lap dog owned by Thaksin and his allies.
That has left the Medical Council to answer the burning questions about Thaksin's medical condition.
A sub-committee led by Dr Amorn Leelarasamee recently completed its investigation, after poring over stacks of documents including Thaksin's medical records from the Corrections Department Hospital and the PGH, the patient transfer request, as well as letters approving the extension of his stay at the hospital signed by the Corrections Department director-general, justice permanent secretary and the justice minister.
The public has high expectations of the Medical Council, which they deem to be a more trustworthy institution compared to the Justice Ministry under Pol Col Tawee, the PGH or the Pheu Thai Party.
As such, when it convenes next week, the Medical Council must deliver transparent answers to the public's queries and decisively act on the sub-committee's findings so the entire country can start to move forward.