Court calls witnesses in Thaksin hospital probe
The top court ordered 20 witnesses to testify in a case over former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's (pic) hospital stay following his return from exile.
Thaksin, 75, returned to Thailand in August 2023 after more than a decade in exile and was sentenced to eight years in prison on graft-related charges.
He was sent to a detention facility but quickly moved to a private room in a police hospital due to health issues, sparking public speculation that he was being given special treatment.
The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions is investigating whether he served his sentence properly, and yesterday summoned witnesses including doctors from the Department of Corrections to appear next month.
Winyat Chatmontree, head of Thaksin's legal team, said the dates could clash with a separate criminal trial on lese-majeste charges over comments the former premier made to South Korean media a decade ago, which is also set to begin next month.
Former Manchester City owner Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup, returned to Thailand on the same day the Pheu Thai Party, led by his daughter Paetongtarn, formed a coalition government, fuelling speculation of a political deal.
He spent around six months in the Police General Hospital before being pardoned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn and freed on parole.
The legal developments come as the government faces a border dispute with Cambodia and internal tensions within its coalition.
Thaksin remains popular among his support base but is strongly opposed by the country's royalist and military establishment. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
16 hours ago
- The Star
Rapid show of rising naval power
A North Korean naval destroyer damaged in a botched launch last month was successfully set afloat on a second attempt, with leader Kim Jong-un presiding, state media said. A ceremony for the ship baptised the Kang Kon – after a top North Korean general killed in the 1950-53 war – was held on Thursday at the Rajin shipyard, up the coast from where the botched attempt occurred, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency. 'Just over two weeks since the accident, the ship was safely raised and floated, and today, as planned, complete restoration has been finished,' Kim said, according to KCNA. Kim has also approved a plan to build two more destroyer-class vessels next year, the agency added. The decision 'heralds a significant and dramatic change in the status and defence activities of (our) Navy,' Kim said, according to KCNA. He claimed that the 'provocative intentions of the United States and its allies' have recently become 'more blatant, and the level of threats to our security has clearly gone far beyond the dangerous limit.' 'We must develop our naval power more comprehensively and rapidly so that the enemy cannot even think of carrying out aggressive actions in the waters around us,' the North Korean leader said. The successful launch comes after Pyongyang last month announced 'a serious accident' when workers first tried to put the 5,000-tonne destroyer into water in the north-eastern port city of Chongjin. The mishap crushed sections of the bottom of the newly built ship. Pyongyang later covered it with a tarpaulin, satellite images showed. South Korean intelligence believe North Korea's so-called 'side-launch attempt' of the ship failed, and the vessel was left listing in the water. Kim called the incident a 'criminal act caused by absolute carelessness' and state media subsequently reported the arrest of four officials in connection with the botched launch. But the country said soon afterwards that the extent of damage to the vessel was 'not serious', and that it would take 'two or three days' to drain it, and another 10 to restore the destroyer's side. The South Korean military estimated that, based on its size and scale, the new warship is similarly equipped to the 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vessel Choe Hyon, which North Korea unveiled in late April. Pyongyang has said the Choe Hyon is equipped with the 'most powerful weapons,' and that it would 'enter into operation early next year'. Some analysts said the ship could be equipped with short-range tactical missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads – although North Korea has not proven it has the ability to miniaturise its atomic arsenal. Seoul's military has said the Choe Hyon could have been developed with Russian help, possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight in Ukraine. North Korea confirmed in April for the first time that it had deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow in the Ukraine war. — AFP
The Star
16 hours ago
- The Star
Court calls witnesses in Thaksin hospital probe
The top court ordered 20 witnesses to testify in a case over former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's (pic) hospital stay following his return from exile. Thaksin, 75, returned to Thailand in August 2023 after more than a decade in exile and was sentenced to eight years in prison on graft-related charges. He was sent to a detention facility but quickly moved to a private room in a police hospital due to health issues, sparking public speculation that he was being given special treatment. The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions is investigating whether he served his sentence properly, and yesterday summoned witnesses including doctors from the Department of Corrections to appear next month. Winyat Chatmontree, head of Thaksin's legal team, said the dates could clash with a separate criminal trial on lese-majeste charges over comments the former premier made to South Korean media a decade ago, which is also set to begin next month. Former Manchester City owner Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup, returned to Thailand on the same day the Pheu Thai Party, led by his daughter Paetongtarn, formed a coalition government, fuelling speculation of a political deal. He spent around six months in the Police General Hospital before being pardoned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn and freed on parole. The legal developments come as the government faces a border dispute with Cambodia and internal tensions within its coalition. Thaksin remains popular among his support base but is strongly opposed by the country's royalist and military establishment. — AFP
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
South Korea agrees to cut Indonesia share in fighter jet project
JAKARTA/SEOUL (Bloomberg): Indonesian and South Korean officials have signed a revised deal that significantly lowers Jakarta's financial commitment to the joint KF-21 fighter jet program, a move aimed at reviving long-stalled progress on the multibillion-dollar project. South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Friday that the new deal reflects a resolution made last year to revise Indonesia's share of the development costs. In August, DAPA had said Indonesia would contribute 600 billion won to the project, equivalent to about US$438.4 million, marking a drop from 1.6 trillion won originally pledged. DAPA said Indonesia's defense ministry had begun administrative procedures to fulfill the revised payment, a step it said it expects will reinvigorate defense ties between the countries. It added that both sides also agreed to expand cooperation beyond fighter jets to include ground and maritime systems. Indonesia's defense ministry declined to immediately comment. The new deal comes years after defense officials from Southeast Asia's largest economy agreed to contribute roughly 20% of the more than 8 trillion won project as it sought to upgrade aging military fleets. The KF-21 Boramae, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries, is intended to replace South Korea's fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighter jets. Indonesia is working on a localized variant known as IF-X, with state-owned Dirgantara Indonesia involved in assembly, maintenance, and production planning. Progress for the KF-21 program, aimed at producing a next-generation supersonic aircraft, was marred by funding disputes and other problems. Indonesia has been pursuing upgrades of its fleet of fighter jets on several fronts, including in an active contract with France's Dassault Aviation SA for 42 Rafale jets, signed in 2022 with an estimated value of $8.1 billion. Last week, Indonesian defense officials said they were in the early stages of evaluating an offer for China's J-10 fighters. This week, Turkey's president announced a deal to sell Jakarta 48 of its KAAN fighter jets currently under development. DAPA Director Seok Jong-gun, among the South Korean officials in Indonesia this week, said his visit marked a return to normal for defense ties between Seoul and Jakarta, moving on from what he described as a period of strain due to technical issues. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
