Mention “the 14th floor” to almost anyone in Thailand and they will know instantly what you mean — it’s where former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra spent six months while serving out his prison sentence at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok
But what does the 14th floor actually look like? Is it really as fancy as people have claimed? Warong Dechgitvigrom has the answer.
Dr Warong, the chairman of the royalist Thai Pakdee Party, said he took some photographs of a luxurious ward on the 14th floor at the hospital, similar to the one where Thaksin stayed, during a visit to a distinguished patient there on an unspecified date. He posted the pictures on his Facebook account on Thursday.
The fully furnished suite on the floor comprises a big bedroom and a spacious living and dining room, with views overlooking the greenery of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club nearby.
Thaksin was believed to have occupied two rooms — 1403 and 1404 — during his stay. The rooms face each other, and the signage on Room 1404 says “royal suite”, according to Dr Warong.
“It all looks luxurious,” he wrote. “This is the most controversial floor.
“It is a luxurious VVIP room that does not indicate that it will be used to care for seriously ill or critically ill patients, but rather to care for patients who can help themselves and are not at risk of death,” he added. “It’s no wonder everyone wants to stay here for a long time.”
Dr Warong said that while he was on the floor, he bumped into Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, the leader of the Seri Ruam Thai (Thai Liberal) Party and former police chief.
Thaksin used the living section of the two rooms, 1403 and 1404, to welcome visitors, according to Pol Gen Sereepisuth, who claimed to have met him while he was at the hospital.
A bedroom in one of the most luxurious patient rooms on the 14th floor. (Photo: Warong Dechgitvigrom Facebook account)
Dr Warong is best known for exposing the corruption of the rice-pledging scheme when Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister, was the prime minister. He was an MP for the Democrat Party at the time. He continues to be an outspoken critic of the Pheu Thai Party.
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.
The former prime minister spent the next 180 days on the 14th floor of Police General Hospital, and was discharged on Feb 18, 2024, after being granted parole on grounds of age and ill health.
Thaksin paid all the costs for his six-month stay, including a VIP room on the 14th floor that cost 8,500 baht a night, a parliamentary committee was told last November.
The 14th floor saga, as it has come to be known, is far from over.
On June 13 the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Position will open an inquiry into allegations that Thaksin’s prison sentence might not have been adequately enforced. The former premier and his daughter Paetongtarn, the current premier, have both been summoned to give evidence in person.
The Medical Council of Thailand earlier this month recommended suspending the licences of two senior doctors at Police General Hospital for providing inaccurate medical information about Thaksin’s condition. Another doctor at the prison hospital was given a warning.
The decision requires approval from Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin, who chairs a special committee of the council. Mr Somsak is also a key figure of the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
Political observers have said that if he endorses the council’s conclusion that Thaksin, 75, was not as “critically ill” as claimed, the repercussions could be far-reaching.
