Supreme Court questions nine corrections officials over Thaksin’s hospital stay

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office questioned nine officials of the Corrections Department today, in connection with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s six-month stay in the Police General Hospital (PGH) while serving a prison sentence.

In the third hearing of the court-initiated enquiry, established to ascertain whether Thaksin was critically ill, justifying his stay in the hospital instead of prison, the court asked the officials about his physical condition during his stay on the 14th floor of the PGH, details of the room where he had stayed, pictures taken while he was in the hospital and details of his visitors.

One of the officials, Jarawat Muangthai, a human resources specialist, is reported to have been questioned by the court for about an hour, during which he was reminded, on several occasions, not to be evasive in his responses to the court’s questions.

The next hearing is scheduled for July 15th.

Thaksin is accused of faking his illness, to avoid spending his term of imprisonment behind bars.