Two doctors face suspension in Thaksin hospital case
published : 9 May 2025 at 08:11
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Post Reporters

The Medical Council of Thailand has said it plans to suspend two doctors and issue a warning to a third after concluding that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was not critically ill, which had been cited as the reason for him to serve his prison sentence in a hospital.
The plan will need approval from the public health minister.
The public health minister is Somsak Thepsutin of the Pheu Thai Party led by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter.
The three doctors worked at the Correctional Hospital and Police General Hospital.
The doctor who will receive the warning failed to meet medical professional standards concerning a referral notice. The two other doctors issued documents that contained false medical information. All three are orthopedic specialists.
Thaksin returned to the country on Aug 22, 2023, after 15 years in self-imposed exile.
On that day, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for abuse of power and conflict of interest while prime minister. The sentence was later reduced to one year by royal clemency.
On his first night at prison, doctors said that he should be transferred to Police General Hospital, where he stayed until granted parole in February 2024.
Vocabulary
- abuse: the use of something in a bad, dishonest, or harmful way - การใช้ในทางที่ผิด
- cite: to mention something as an example - กล่าวถึง
- clemency (noun): kindness when giving a punishment -
- conflict of interest: a situation in which someone cannot make a fair decision because they will be affected by the results - ผลประโยชน์ทับซ้อน
- exile: a situation in which you live in a foreign country because you feel you cannot live in your own country, usually for political reasons - การลี้ภัย การถูกขับออกนอกประเทศ
- minister: a member of the cabinet, the group of government ministers who make and approve government policy - รัฐมนตรี
- orthopedic: designed to prevent or treat bone injuries - เกี่ยวกับการรักษากระดูกและกล้ามเนื้อ
- parole (noun): permission that is given to a prisoner to leave prison before the end of their sentence on condition that they behave well - การพ้นโทษอย่างมีเงื่อนไขหรือทำทัณฑ์บนไว้
- referral (noun): the act of sending somebody who needs professional help to a person or place that can provide it - การส่งต่อ (ผู้ป่วย)
- sentence : (of a court of law) to give a punishment - ลงโทษ
- standard: a (high) level of quality - มาตรฐาน
- suspension: stopping for a period of time - การยกเลิกชั่วคราว, การระงับชั่วคราว