Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra will formally complete his one-year prison term on Aug 31 this year, according to the Department of Corrections (DoC), despite him having already been released from the Police General Hospital, where he stayed instead of jail.
DoC director-general Sahakarn Petchnarin explained on Friday that this is Thaksin's release date because his term must be counted from the day he received a royal pardon, not the day on which he was sent to prison.
Thaksin sought a royal pardon on Aug 31 and it was granted on Sept 1. Officials will later issue him with a certificate of innocence.
Mr Sahakarn confirmed the DoC is ready to take responsibility for clarifying claims it provided special privileges to the inmate, especially after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) told the press yesterday that it will file a complaint about the DoC and the Police General Hospital to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for not performing their duties properly in allowing Thaksin to stay at the hospital for six months.
Mr Sahakarn said the DoC never treats inmates differently, and there is no such favouritism.
NHRC commissioner Wasan Paileeklee said on Friday the commission investigated Thaksin's case after receiving a petition last November asking it to investigate Bangkok Remand Prison and the Police General Hospital.
Thaksin returned to the country on Aug 22 last year 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 in three cases. That sentence was later reduced to one year by royal clemency.
On his first night at Bangkok Remand Prison, doctors determined he should be transferred to the Police General Hospital because he was suffering from chest pain, hypertension and low blood oxygen levels.
Thaksin was legally permitted to receive treatment outside prison within a 120-day window until Dec 22, but the DoC allowed him to continue his hospital stay after that. Thaksin was paroled and discharged from the hospital on Feb 18. Mr Wasan said he went straight home without receiving further treatment at any hospital.