As the sun crested the horizon of the Land of Smiles, a wave of anticipation swelled at Don Mueang airport, ready to break in a dramatic crescendo. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a figure as polarizing as he is charismatic, emerged before his faithful followers, a wry smile playing across his lips. Accompanied by his daughter Paetongtarn, the now-captain high of Pheu Thai Party’s ship, the day was thick with a narrative only Bangkok could script on Aug 22.
Enter Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong, the latest protagonist in this political theatre. He’s got a quill in his hand, poised to write the next act of this saga, as he eagerly awaits a scroll from the Department of Corrections. This isn’t just any old report; this one is set to unravel the tale of Thaksin’s over-120-day medical sojourn outside the unforgiving walls of his assigned residence: prison.
Picture it: 13 hours post-incarceration, Thaksin, donning the garb of a seasoned inmate, swaps the cold steel bars for the crisp linen of the Police General Hospital’s premium ward. This was following his pied piper-like return from a lengthy self-exile, which concluded with an eight-year sentence for charges of power abuse, eventually trimmed down to a year by a whisper of royal mercy.
By the book—or rather, the Department of Corrections’ regulations—Thaksin’s prolonged excursion from prison bars to hospital wards should be a jigsaw that fits seamlessly only with the puzzle pieces of medical experts’ blessings and bureaucratic nods. Speaking of nods, the prison chief’s head must bob in agreement before they light up the signal to the department’s head honcho, who in turn, must signal to Justice Minister Tawee, according to the regimented Pol Col Tawee.
Last spotted in the whirlwind of bureaucratic consultations: Mr. Sahakarn Petchnarin, guardian of the Department’s gates. On a breezy Friday, amid a crescendo of transparency calls, Pol Col Tawee stepped forth to request a status update. A ‘report due to arrive later this week,’ was the promise, wrapped in the enigma of medical privacy laws, leaving the population to speculate over the health woes of the 74-year-old Thaksin—a man as enshrouded in mystery as the famed temples of his homeland.
Circulating whispers through the halls of power hint at a battle waged against hypertension, the silent squeeze of narrowing blood vessels, and the ever-persistent hepatitis B—all while the seasoned leader reportedly underwent two clandestine surgical maneuvers since his hospital admission.
Justice Minister Tawee, with an ear to the ground, has yet to intercept any formal initiatives from the House committee on police affairs, who supposedly seek a face-to-face with Thaksin, evoking nuances of a modern-day Game of Houses.
Meanwhile, behind the velvet curtains of the justice ministry, a committee ponders over a Pandora’s box of correctional regulations. An alleged master key, capable of unlocking the cell doors for more inmates in the final countdown to their freedom. Yet, amid a backdrop of crammed prison corridors, some can’t help but muse if this decree was scripted with Thaksin’s narrative in mind—a claim met with vehement denial in the halls of power.
Be First to Comment