Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday returned to the kingdom after 15 years in exile and was immediately jailed, just hours before his party’s candidate was elected prime minister.
The Supreme Court ordered the 74-year-old billionaire to serve eight years on old graft charges, although it is not clear how much time he would serve behind bars, as his Pheu Thai party forms a government and rumors swirl of a deal for leniency.
Thaksin, loved and loathed in almost equal measure in Thailand, landed in a private jet at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport yesterday morning, and was greeted by hundreds of “Red Shirt” supporters waving banners and singing songs.
Photo: EPA-EFE
He emerged briefly to bow and offer a floral garland at a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn as a mark of respect before waving to supporters.
More Red Shirts lined the streets as the former Manchester City owner was taken to the Supreme Court. There he was ordered to serve eight years for three convictions passed in his absence — one linked to his former Shin Corp, another linked to a bank loan and a lottery case.
Just hours after he landed, parliament approved business tycoon Srettha Thavisin as prime minister at the head of a coalition led by the Pheu Thai party.
Photo: AFP
“I will try my best and work tirelessly to improve the quality of life for Thai people,” Srettha told reporters after he was confirmed as the kingdom’s 30th prime minister.
Pheu Thai’s controversial alliance includes parties from its old enemies in the military — which ousted both Thaksin and his sister Yingluck as prime minister.
This has led to widespread speculation of a backroom arrangement with Thailand’s powerful pro-military royalist establishment to let Thaksin off lightly — although Pheu Thai has denied such a deal.
Thaksin is to spend his first days in prison in isolation because of health problems, but his family would be able to visit him after five days, the Department of Corrections said.
Asked about the possibility of a royal pardon, Department of Corrections Deputy Director Sithi Suthiwong told reporters Thaksin could apply, and the process would take “about one to two months, if the documents are sufficient.”
Srettha sailed through the confirmation ballot in parliament with 482 votes in favor to 165 against and 81 abstentions.
His victory ends three months of political deadlock and wrangling after MFP beat Pheu Thai into second place in May’s polls.
Despite winning the most seats, Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat saw his bid to become prime minister sunk by conservative junta-appointed senators, who were spooked by his party’s determination to reform royal insult laws and tackle business monopolies.
After Srettha’s confirmation, Pita pledged on social media that the MFP would work in opposition to be “the political institution that people can trust.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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