The House committee on police affairs plans to visit Police General Hospital next month to see if former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is really there, says the committee chairman.
Chaichana Dejdecho, a Democrat MP, said committee members wanted proof after failing to receive a clear answer about Thaksin’s stay from the hospital and the Department of Corrections on Thursday.
Panel members plan to visit the hospital sometime before Jan 13, he said.
Dec 21 will mark 120 days since Thaksin was transferred to the hospital, only hours after entering prison. By law, the minister of justice must personally approve any stay exceeding 120 days by an inmate receiving medical treatment outside a prison hospital.
Mr Chaichana said members of his committee want to know why he was not transported in a prison vehicle to the hospital, why he was not quarantined in prison for 10 days like other inmates but was moved to the hospital right away, why he was moved to Police General Hospital instead of another hospital, and why his hair was not cut like other inmates.
“Thai society can only progress on condition that it is free of inequality,” Mr Chaichana said.