Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is likely to quit politics when he is released from prison, his daughter Paetongtarn said on Thursday.
She made the comment as she walked out of Klongprem Central Prison in Chatuchak district, after reporters pressed her on whether her father would quit politics when he is paroled later this year.
“He has been inside for six months. He should quit. It is unlikely that he will not quit,” said Ms Paetongtarn, also a former PM.
The Department of Corrections said this week that Thaksin, who will turn 77 on July 26, would be eligible for parole in May as he would have served two-thirds of his one-year jail term by then.
Thaksin, 76, has been behind bars since Sept 9 last year, when the Supreme Court ordered him to actually serve his one-year sentence for abuse of authority and conflict of interest while serving as prime minister prior to 2006.
The court did not recognise Thaksin’s prolonged stay at Police General Hospital in 2023-24 as qualifying for prison time.
Thaksin returned to Thailand on Aug 22, 2023, after more than 15 years of self-exile abroad.
The billionaire patriarch of the Pheu Thai Party was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison — later reduced to one year by royal clemency.
He was taken to Bangkok Remand Prison but was moved to Police General Hospital the same night, only 13 hours after he entered the prison.
