The House committee on police affairs has promised to visit former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- who is currently serving a prison sentence for graft in a premium ward at the Police General Hospital -- sometime in the first two weeks of January, according to committee chairman Chaichana Detdacho yesterday.
Mr Chaichana made the pledge in response to growing doubts as to whether Thaksin is really seriously ill and still requires intensive care outside of the prison as claimed by the Department of Corrections (DC).
Thaksin has been staying at the hospital since Aug 22, one day after he was sentenced to eight years in jail -- which has since been reduced to a year following a royal pardon from His Majesty the King -- for graft carried out during his tenure.
The Democrat MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat said the visit will take place after Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong, along with the permanent secretary for justice and the director-general of the DC are summoned to answer the committee's questions on Thaksin's hospital stay.
However, no exact date has been set so far, he said.
The Justice Minister and other relevant high-level officials will be questioned because the committee didn't get a clear answer from Nassathi Thongpralard, chief of the Bangkok Remand Prison, and Dr Samart Muangsiri, a doctor at PGH, who were summoned by the House committee on Thursday, said Mr Chaichana.
The doctor told the House committee Thaksin is suffering from high blood pressure, a clogged blood vessel and Hepatitis B, said Mr Chaichana, who said he found it hard to believe as Thaksin was still seen drinking wine and dancing to rap music before he returned to Thailand.
Pol Col Sirikul Srisanga, spokeswoman for the PGH, meanwhile, declined to elaborate on Thaksin's current health condition, saying the information is confidential and could only be revealed to the patient's relatives and the DC's officials.
The House committee has launched an inquiry into Thaksin's condition and DC's controversial handling of the situation, following a petition filed by Wachara Petchthong, a former Democrat list-MP who threatened to pursue charges of dereliction of duty against the House committee if it fails to respond to his petition.
Mr Wachara said yesterday he would ask the Supreme Court to decide whether Thaksin is eligible to be detained outside of prison under the new rules which came into effect on Tuesday.
Dr Somphop Sangkhutkaeo, chief inspector of the DC, insisted the new regulation wasn't intended to benefit Thaksin or any other parties, despite the timing of the announcement.
More importantly, he said, even if Thaksin were to benefit from the new rules, he won't walk out of prison anytime soon, as there are many steps which still need to be done, including a survey of all prisons in the country to determine who should be included in the programme.
Once the survey is completed, the list of eligible inmates would be forwarded to a DC committee responsible who would vet the list. Authorities also still need to draw up a list of non-prison detention facilities where eligible inmates could go to," he said.
In another development, a movement group calling itself the network of students and people reforming Thailand yesterday petitioned the DC to transfer Thaksin back to the department's own healthcare facility for recovery.
The group also called on the government to clarify whether the new rules on detention would actually apply to Thaksin or not.
The group made the call in response to a remark by one of Thaksin's daughters, which suggested the ex-premier was still recovering from his illnesses.
Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she personally believed the DC's new regulation wasn't intended for any specific individuals.
Whether Thaksin would benefit from this new rule as widely speculated by the public, she said she really didn't know.
As his daughter, she said, she admitted that the faster her father is released, the better it would be for her and her family.
"After all, the best we could do now is keep offering each other moral support. My father has contributed greatly to the country. I wish he'll stay strong and be a good adviser to me when he is released," she said.