After the recent removal of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra by the Thai Constitutional Court, Thaksin Shinawatra, the father of PM Paetongtarn and a Ex-Thai Prime Minister himself was ordered by the supreme court to serve a full year in Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok.
Thaksin Shinawatra is known to be a billionaire tycoon who entered politics in late 1990’s and became the Prime Minister of Thailand in 2001. His regimes were marked by a populist platform where cheaper healthcare, village development funds and debt relief for farmers was enabled, making him widely popular amongst the low-income and working class Thais.
Even though he was seen as a person who concentrated on elevating the poor, in 2006 he was accused of abuse of power, filed corruption charges, tax evasion and his authoritarian tendencies that eventually led to the downfall of his government while he was abroad.
After being overthrown in a military coup, Thaksin went into self-exile mainly living in Dubai and London. As time passed, in 2008 the Thai Supreme Court sentenced him in absentia to eight years of imprisonment. However when he returned in 2023 after 15 years in exile he was sent to the Police general hospital in Bangkok due to ill health.
Shortly after Mr. Shinawatra’s return the Thai King, his highness Maha Vajiralongkorn granted a royal pardon reducing his eight years sentence to one year. Whereupon he spent around 6 months in hospital till later receiving parole in 2024.
However, during a recent ruling by the supreme court on 9th September 2025 the Ex Prime Minister could not stay in the hospital as his one year imprisonment time was served, hence the Nation’s judiciary ordered him to stay and serve a full year in prison.
Fascinatingly the Ex Thai PM’s daughter, who later also served in the office was also recently dismissed by the constitutional court just a few days back on 29th August after being found guilty of an ethics violation related to a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. Making her the second one from her family who was ousted from the office of the Prime Minister.
