Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong has said the Department of Corrections (DoC) has no authority to demand CCTV footage from the Police General Hospital, where former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was previously hospitalised.
Pol Col Tawee was responding to a dispute between the DoC director-general and Seri Ruam Thai Party leader Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves regarding whether Thaksin received special treatment during his detention on the 14th floor of the hospital.
Pol Col Tawee said the issue is being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
He said one of three facilities is chosen after a court issues a detention order. It could be a prison, hospital, or other place of confinement as allowed by the ministerial regulations.
The term "other places of confinement" may refer to any security agency that can provide places of detention, he said, adding that such an allowance was due to prisons being overcrowded.
Regarding Thaksin's special treatment, Pol Col Tawee said the DoC has provided information to various agencies probing the matter.
He noted that when Thaksin returned to Thailand in August last year, the government under former premier Srettha Thavisin had not yet taken office.
When asked if CCTV footage had been handed over to the NACC, he said the footage belonged to the Police General Hospital, so the question should be directed to the hospital.
"Although inmates detained at other confinement places are still under the supervision of the DoC, the Justice Ministry has no authority to install CCTV cameras at any official building outside of its jurisdiction," he said.
Regarding Pol Gen Sereepisuth's claim to have visited Thaksin twice during his hospitalisation and another that Thaksin's medical condition didn't match what was reported, the justice minister said the DoC and the ministry are ready to listen to Pol Gen Sereepisuth.
Dr Sompop Sangkutkaew, deputy DoC director-general and a department spokesman, insisted Thaksin was supervised by DoC officers around the clock during his stay at the hospital. Several groups of officers took turns on shifts, totalling 100 officers, he said.
The spokesman said the DoC has not yet considered whether it will sue Pol Gen Sereepisuth over his claim that there were no guards present while he was visiting Thaksin, noting that Pol Gen Sereepisuth's name was never listed as a visitor.
Meanwhile, former Democrat MP Watchara Phetthong on Tuesday submitted a letter to DoC director-general Sahakarn Petchnarin asking for a list of officers at the Bangkok Remand Prison who were assigned to oversee Thaksin and a copy of their performance reports and disbursement of allowances from Aug 23, 2023, to Feb 18.
