FILE PHOTO: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra speaks with businessmen ahead of the "Vision for Thailand" event in Bangkok, Thailand, August 22, 2024. Picture taken through glass. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand's medical council on Thursday upheld its suspension of two doctors who enabled influential politician Thaksin Shinawatra to spend his prison sentence in hospital, a day ahead of the start of a Supreme Court case that could see him jailed.
Thaksin, the driving force behind the current government, returned from 15 years of self-exile in 2023 to serve a prison term for abuse of power and conflicts of interest, but was sent to hospital after only a few hours in jail complaining of chest problems.
The polarising billionaire, whose daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra is prime minister, stayed in a VIP wing of the hospital for six months until his release on parole without a single night in jail, prompting public outrage and deep scepticism about the extent of his ailments.
"More than two-thirds of the council voted to uphold the punishments," Medical Council of Thailand vice president, Prasit Watanapa, told reporters.
"Members made the decision based on medical principles, evidence and reason."
The suspensions could impact a case at the Supreme Court that begins on Friday in which the legality of Thaksin's hospital stay has been challenged, with the possibility the tycoon could be made to serve that time again, in prison.
Thaksin, 75, remains a towering figure in Thai politics and though he holds no formal government role, he is highly influential.
His lawyer declined to comment on Thursday on the council's decision.
The revival of the controversy over Thaksin's hospital stay comes at a challenging time for Paetongtarn's government, which is seeing its popularity dwindle amid a prolonged struggle to spur economic growth and domestic pressure to take a tougher stance on an ongoing border dispute with Cambodia.
Thaksin's sentence was originally eight years, but it was commuted to a year by the king and he became eligible for parole after six months.
The medical council's vote overrides a veto of its earlier decision by Health Minister Somsak Thapsutin, a Thaksin ally.
The council had yet to confirm the duration of the suspension of the two doctors, who it found had issued documents that contained false medical information. They had denied wrongdoing and stood by their medical assessments.
Another doctor with the corrections department received a warning for failing to meet medical standards in a referral notice for Thaksin.
(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Panu Wongcha-um and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Martin Petty)
