26-8-2023 (BANGKOK) Former red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan has joined the chorus of voices demanding that the Department of Corrections and Police General Hospital release video footage to dispel public doubts about the illness of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Jatuporn’s call for transparency comes as Thaksin, 74, remains hospitalized at the Police General Hospital following his transfer from Bangkok Remand Prison on Wednesday.
Jatuporn, a former chairman of the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), or the red shirts, pointed out that all inmates’ movements are monitored by closed-circuit television (CCTV) and that medical procedures are thoroughly recorded. He questioned why the authorities were not releasing footage of Thaksin’s medical treatment, suggesting that it could be a sign of a “political sickness” rather than a genuine illness.
“People are raising doubts about whether Thaksin is politically sick or really sick,” Jatuporn said during a live broadcast on Peace TV, a satellite-based channel. “When he returned to Thailand at Don Mueang airport, key figures from the Pheu Thai Party clearly said during press interviews that Thaksin was in very good health. But Thai people just learned that he fell sick when he was taken to a prison.”
Jatuporn recalled his own experience behind bars, saying that lights at the prison were turned on 24/7 and there were security cameras recording everything. He emphasized that inmates who are sent to the Police General Hospital must be critically ill, and that prison doctors would normally send sick inmates to the Department of Corrections Hospital first, before deciding whether to transfer them to the Police General Hospital.
“In Thaksin’s case, doctors might see that his condition is critically ill. But CCTV records everything. There must be footage showing the examination of his symptoms. When being taken to Police General Hospital, CCTV would show the time he left the prison and the time he arrived at the hospital,” Jatuporn said.
He added that if Thaksin was indeed critically ill, he must be admitted to an intensive care unit before being transferred to a patient room on the hospital’s 14th floor. Jatuporn stressed that CCTV footage and images of Thaksin’s care must be shown to the public, as they are not confidential and would not cause damage to anyone.
“Everything involving Thaksin, as an important person serving jail terms, must be recorded. His movements could not be made to disappear from CCTV records,” Jatuporn said. “If he is really critically ill, nobody opposes any special treatment for him. If not, it will be a new problem. There will be intense public scrutiny. Those involved will face mounting pressure from society and they will end up in jail.”
Jatuporn’s comments come as he has recently launched stinging criticisms of his former party, Pheu Thai, and Thaksin, after years of being one of the former premier’s most ardent loyalists. He has accused Thaksin of repeatedly betraying the red shirts, who were his loyal supporters and helped vote his Pheu Thai Party into power.
