The sight of a seemingly healthy Thaksin Shinawatra touring Chiang Mai has increased public scepticism about whether he was ever as ill as the government claimed, says an opposition MP.
Rangsiman Rome of the Move Forward Party made the comment on Thursday as the former prime minister turned parolee began a three-day visit to the northern province where he grew up.
Serious illness was one of the reasons government officials gave for approving Thaksin’s early release after serving half of his one-year prison sentence — not a single night of it in a jail cell.
“Then days afterwards Thaksin was able to leave hospital and days after returning home he is able to travel to Chiang Mai,” Mr Rangsiman said on Thursday.
“Did the government lie to us? … If Thaksin was not ill, I think that … the government will then be held responsible,” he said.
Thaksin, 74, was discharged from Police General Hospital on the morning of Feb 18. He had stayed there for six months, ostensibly due to serious and life-threatening illnesses.
When he was released, his family posted a photograph showing him wearing a brace on his neck and a sling on his right arm. Those who saw him over the next few days said he was unable to walk on his own and needed a wheelchair. They described him as very weak and able to speak only in a whisper.
According to judicial authorities, Thaksin met the criteria for parole because he is over 70 years old, was seriously ill and was considered to have served at least six months of his jail term despite having spent all of that time in hospital.
After his return to the country on Aug 22, 2023, Thaksin was brought to the Supreme Court, which sentenced him to eight years in jail for abuse of authority and conflict of interest while in office prior to 2006.
He was then taken to the Bangkok Remand Prison, but not long after midnight, corrections officials moved him to Police General Hospital, saying he needed modern treatment equipment for several critical conditions, including chest pain, hypertension and low blood oxygen.
His eight-year term was subsequently reduced to one year by a royal pardon in September 2023.
“If Thaksin was not ill, I think that … the government will then be held responsible,” says Move Forward Party MP Rangsiman Rome.
