Proceedings in the Senate chamber were briefly disrupted on Tuesday when a motion to debate equal rights for prisoners was suddenly withdrawn by the senator who submitted it.
Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit pulled the motion that called on the Senate to support the right of all prisoners to receive the same standard of healthcare provided to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his hospital detention last year.
Thaksin spent six months in the premium ward of the Police General Hospital in lieu of prison detention before he was later released on parole.
The 75-year-old billionaire paid all the costs for his six-month stay, including a VIP room that cost 8,500 baht a night.
Sen Angkhana told fellow senators that she decided to withdraw the motion because the information she currently had to support it was incomplete.
The move drew a protest from Senator Nantana Nantavaropas, one of a small group of progressive lawmakers that includes Sen Angkhana, a former head of the National Human Rights Commission. The
“If you weren’t ready, you should not have submitted this motion in the first place,” Sen Nantana told her colleague.
“Your [sudden] withdrawal [of the motion] might lead the public to suspect you have been pressured to back down.”
Sen Angkhana then insisted the information she had to underpin the motion had fallen short, especially about the death of a prisoner while staging a hunger strike behind bars.
She was referring to Netiporn “Boong” Saneysangkhom, a key leader of the youth-led Thalu Wang protest group. She died on May 14 last year after a protracted hunger strike while being detained.
“Rushing to debate this matter without sufficient information could invite a mistake,” Sen Angkhana said.
Sen Thanakon Thawonchinchot, meanwhile, said he and two other senators who previously supported the motion also wanted to withdraw their support.
The Senate later voted 138 to 7 to approve the withdrawal of the motion, with seven abstentions.
Sen Angkhana later told reporters she had no choice but to remove the motion as further information had to be gathered pertaining to the activist’s medical treatment.
She said she had wanted to address the double standards that were exposed by Thaksin’s hospital detention.