From VIP hospital suite to Bangkok prison: Where Thaksin Shinawatra is serving a year
Thaksin Shinawatra has had Thai politics on a string for more than two decades. Now, he has made history as the first former Thai prime minister to serve time behind bars.
Thaksin, whose political influence persisted through successive governments — including that of his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was ousted in August — was sent to prison after the Supreme Court ruled that he had evaded jail in 2023 by choosing detention in a VIP hospital suite.
Since September 9, the former leader has been serving a one-year sentence — a term commuted by the king in 2023 from an original eight-year conviction for conflicts of interest and abuse of power.
"I humbly accept and am ready to enter the (judicial) process after today's verdict," Thaksin said in a statement after the ruling. "Even as I lose my freedom today, I still have the freedom of thought to benefit the country and the people."
Thaksin, 76, returned to Thailand in 2023 after 15 years of self-imposed exile in Dubai. Upon arrival by private jet, he was taken directly to prison but spent only a few hours there before complaining of chest pains and heart problems.
The billionaire former telecoms tycoon — one of Thailand’s richest men — was quickly transferred to the Police General Hospital in Bangkok, where he remained under detention for six months, until February 2024.
In May, photos and videos posted by Dr. Warong Dechgitvigrom, chairman of the Thai Pakdee Party, revealed that Thaksin’s hospital suite was anything but austere. The room featured couches, cooking facilities and other amenities befitting a VIP.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that his prolonged hospital stay was a tactic to avoid imprisonment, noting that minor surgeries had been carried out to extend his time there.
Now, Thaksin faces a harsher reality.
Less than 20 kilometres from the Police General Hospital, Klong Prem Central Prison is where Thaksin will serve his one-year sentence, alongside roughly 6,500 inmates across 11 zones.
Inside the maximum-security facility, prisoners sleep with three blankets, share communal bathing areas and eat bland food, according to accounts from people familiar with the prison who spoke to Reuters.
Reuters photographs of the general cells show peeling walls, grime, and a single ceiling fan for a cell that houses as many as 25. It remains unclear which section of the prison Thaksin has been assigned to, given the size of the complex.
What is clear is that the conditions of Klong Prem stand are a stark contrast to the hospital suite where he spent the past year. And when Thaksin eventually leaves prison, he will step back into a Thai political landscape markedly different from the one he once dominated.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
