Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra appeared for the first time since returning to his Chan Song La residence this morning, along with his youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, leader of the Pheu Thai party.
At 5:19 am, they went to pay respects at the Bangkok City Pillar shrine before boarding his jet plane to Chiang Mai at about 7 am.
He still wears a neck support but no arm sling and can walk on his own. Previously when he met former Cambodian PM Hun Sen, he wore neck support and arm sling.
Yesterday, he went to pay respect to the Supreme Patriarch and made merits at Wat Ratchabophit Sathitmahasimaram temple. He did not have a neck support and walked on his own.
Thaksin will visit his home province of Chiang Mai from today until this Saturday. During his visit, he will stay at a residence within Summit Green Valley, in Mae Rim district, where he will be visited by family members and relatives in the evening.
On March 15, Thaksin and his family will participate in respect and merit-making rituals at the temple in San Kamphaeng district, where his ancestors’ relics are interred. Thaksin is scheduled to return to Bangkok the next day. This trip marks his first visit to his home province since he began decades in self-exile abroad.
Thaksin returned to Thailand last August and was subsequently convicted on corruption charges. Despite not spending a single night in prison, citing various ailments, he stayed in the Police General Hospital for six months before being released on parole to his Chan Song La residence.
Many Thais doubt the severity of his illness, claiming that he received special treatment from authorities to avoid staying in a prison cell.
