Thaksin Shinawatra, former Prime Minister of Thailand, returned to the country on 22 August after 15 years in self-imposed exile – but was welcomed by a jail sentence and now a serious trip to the hospital.
Just hours before Srettha Thavisin was voted the new PM, Thaksin arrived in Bangkok after more than a decade in exile from various criminal cases hanging over him. The return wasn’t a surprise whatsoever, but what happened next might have felt like it.
Not long after his arrival, the former PM got sentenced to eight years in jail due to criminal convictions, such as abuse of power and conflicts of interest, which he himself says are ‘politically motivated.’
It is suspected, however, that Thaksin will seek royal pardon, and prison authorities have already said submitting a petition from jail is possible right away, but that process alone can take months.
But during the night at his new temporary residence, the former PM fell ill and was moved to a hospital at around 2am to get urgent treatment.
Officials said on 23 August that he was sent there due to concern regarding his heart and high blood pressure.
