Niwatchai Gasemmongkol, secretary-general of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). - Image from The Nation Thailand/ANN
BANGKOK (The Nation Thailand/ANN): Thailand's anti-graft agency has accepted a complaint accusing the Corrections Department and the Police General Hospital of providing preferential treatment to convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Niwatchai Gasemmongkol, secretary-general of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), said on Saturday that his agency was gathering facts and information on the matter.
“The NACC has accepted the complaint for consideration. We are verifying facts and have invited the Corrections Department and the Police General Hospital to provide information,” Niwatchai told reporters.
He said it would take some time to determine if there were any grounds to believe the relevant officials had committed any wrongdoing as accused.
If that is the case, the process would call for an investigation by the NACC that would include the questioning of the accused officials, the secretary-general said.
When asked if moving Thaksin from the Bangkok Remand Prison and letting him stay in relevant luxury at the Police General Hospital for a long time could be deemed “double standards”, Niwatchai said it would depend on the facts and legal provisions involved.
“We will see if there are any laws or regulations allowing such acts. If no such law or regulation exists, we will determine if the acts can be considered as wrongdoing. It is still too soon today to say who is right or wrong,” Niwatchai said.
He also added that in certain cases, the relevant law or regulation empowers authorised officials to make a judgement, which may be viewed as improper but is not against the law. “The NACC has no power to decide about the suitability of such decisions,” he added.
Thaksin, 74, is eligible for release on parole on Sunday after having served at least a third of his prison term or six months, whichever is longer, according to the Corrections Department regulations on granting parole for inmates who are 70 and over or seriously ill.
The ex-PM was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for corruption stemming from his 2001-2006 tenure as prime minister, which was cut short by a military coup. However, he received a royal pardon soon after his return to Thailand last year, which reduced the sentence to one year in jail.
The former premier flew back to Thailand on a private jet on August 22, ending 15 years of self-imposed exile overseas. Less than 24 hours after landing on Thai soil, he was taken from Bangkok Remand Prison to the Police General Hospital for treatment of unidentified health issues. He has reportedly been there ever since.
His long hospital stay has aroused suspicions about the seriousness of his illness while triggering allegations that he is enjoying “VIP treatment” from relevant authorities.
The Corrections Department and the Police General Hospital have faced allegations of condoning double standards at the cost of several thousands of other inmates. - The Nation Thailand/ANN
