Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Thailand's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that former prime minister and business tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra must spend 1 year in prison for conflict of interest, abuse of power and corruption convictions handed down in 2023, for which he has served zero jail time.
Justices discounted the six months he spent in a suite in the luxury wing of the Police General Hospital in Bangkok after suffering medical issues on his return from living in exile in Dubai for 15 years after being toppled from power in a 2006 military coup while visiting the United States.
Having been convicted in absentia and sentenced to eight years in prison, King Maha Vajiralongkorn responded to a request for a royal pardon from Thaksin by slashing his sentence to a year.
He was freed on parole in February 2024, fueling allegations of special treatment.
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