Bad news for former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. According to the country’s highest court, Shinawatra must serve a one year jail sentence after the court handed down its ruling this week.
The Lowdown
One of the country’s most prominent and polarising politicians is going to jail. According to a ruling by Thailand’s top court, Shinawatra did not properly serve a previous required eight-year sentence for corruption and abuse of power. That was first handed down in 2023 after he at the time returned to the country following his then self-imposed exile.
The judgment against the former prime minister found that his cushy deal back then which landed him in the VIP wing of a jail hospital rather than jail itself was illegal.
“The defendant knows his sickness was not an urgent matter, and staying in hospital cannot count as a prison term,” said the ruling read out on Monday.
“The court will issue a jail warrant and an official from Bangkok Remand Prison will take him,” the announcement continued.