The director of Police General Hospital has demanded that Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin review a decision by the Medical Council of Thailand to discipline three doctors who treated former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Pol Lt Gen Dr Thaweesin Vejvithan sent his lawyer to file a two-page letter to Mr Somsak, who is also the medical council’s honorary president, at the Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday morning.
Thanakrit Chitareerat, an assistant to the minister, said the lawyer told him he was providing “new pieces of information” that were not submitted to the council during its investigation.
The investigative subcommittee set up by the council concluded on May 8 that three doctors acted unethically by claiming Thaksin’s condition was “critical” when all available evidence showed it was not. It recommended suspending the licences of two doctors and issuing a warning to the third.
Officials in charge of Thaksin’s case have stated repeatedly that his “critical” condition justified his transfer from a prison hospital to Police General Hospital, where he stayed in a VIP room for the entire 180-day duration of his sentence.
Mr Thanakrit said a working group would study the new information submitted by the head of the police hospital, and recommend to Mr Somsak whether it was relevant to the medical council’s report.
The minister “has full authority to veto a resolution made by the medical council” if it is found to have deviated from expected medical standards, Mr Thanakrit said.
“This is not an issue of conflict between the ministry and the medical council as things have been done in accordance with the regulations,” he said.
The new submission would not prolong the process of considering the council’s report, which must be done within 15 days, he said.
The minister’s recommendation will be submitted to a medical council committee, which will then organise a vote of the full 72-member council. A two-thirds majority vote is required to approve the final resolution.
Netithorn Linhatrakul, the lawyer for Dr Thaweesin, said the head of the police hospital was unhappy with the council’s report because it damaged his reputation. Consequently, he wanted to assert his right to defend his innocence. He declined to elaborate, saying that everything would be disclosed to the minister for his consideration.
Thaksin returned to Thailand on Aug 22, 2023, after 15 years in self-imposed exile.
On that day, he was taken to the Supreme Court, which sentenced him to eight years in prison for abuse of power and conflict of interest while serving as prime minister prior to 2006. The sentence was later reduced to one year by royal clemency.
On his first night at Bangkok Remand Prison, doctors determined that he should be transferred to Police General Hospital because he was suffering from chest pain, hypertension and low blood oxygen levels. It was stated that the prison hospital lacked the equipment and expertise to treat critically ill patients.
Thaksin, who will turn 76 in July, was legally permitted to receive treatment outside prison for 120 days, but the Department of Corrections allowed him to continue his hospital stay for 180 days, saying that conditions in jail could threaten his life.
Thaksin paid all the costs for his six-month stay, including a VIP room on the hospital’s 14th floor that cost 8,500 baht a night, a parliamentary committee was told last November.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions decided recently that it would hold a special inquiry to determine whether Thaksin’s prison sentence was properly carried out.
Thaksin and his daughter, the prime minister, are among those who have been summoned to give evidence. The first hearing is scheduled for June 13.
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