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Thailand News -- Thaksin Shinawatra, Former Thai PM Serving Prison Term, Takes New Role as Sewer Cleaning Supervisor at Bangkok's Klong Prem Prison
Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s former prime minister who is currently serving a prison sentence, has taken on a new job at Bangkok’s Klong Prem Prison: supervising sewer cleaning workers. This role means he can be outside the prison during working hours, and as a supervisor, he does not need to perform manual labor—unlike regular cleaners who have to scoop up garbage and sludge from roadside sewers.
Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter and also a former Thai prime minister, told the media after visiting him in prison on Thursday, September 25, that the arrangement was made by the prison chief. She added that her father’s current health condition is good.
However, Thailand’s Department of Corrections clarified that the request to work outside the prison was proactively made by Thaksin himself. Currently, the request has neither been approved by the prison authorities nor has any relevant arrangement been finalized, as it remains to be clarified whether Thaksin meets the relevant regulations and criteria.
According to Thai media reports, under normal circumstances, prisoners convicted of minor offenses, those with good behavior during their sentence, and those with a short remaining term can apply to work outside the prison to earn money—for example, working as cleaners to help the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration clean sewers.
Nevertheless, news that Thaksin might be allowed to work outside the prison has sparked doubts from various parties. This is because, according to regulations, prisoners eligible to work outside must have served at least one-third of their total sentence. Thaksin was sentenced to one year in prison on September 9 and has been in jail for less than a month so far.
On Friday, September 26, Kanokwan Chantharasiri, deputy spokesperson of the Department of Corrections, explained that if a prisoner meets all necessary conditions, the prison will consider allowing them to work outside, but this must first be approved by an internal committee. Once approved, it will also need to be submitted to the Department of Corrections’ Central Committee for final review.
The 76-year-old Thaksin returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years of exile. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of corruption and abuse of power but was transferred to the Police General Hospital for medical treatment on his first day in jail. He later received a royal pardon from Thailand’s King, reducing his sentence to one year. After six months of hospitalization, Thaksin was granted parole in February last year. During this period, he never spent a single night in prison.
On September 9 this year, Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled that Thaksin’s hospital stay would not count towards his prison term and sentenced him to serve the one-year term again. |
