PUBLISHED: 29 Dec 2024 at 16:03
Yingluck Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand, could potentially qualify for home detention if her prison sentence is reduced by one year, as revealed by the chief of the Department of Corrections.
According to Sahakarn Phetnarin, director-general of the Department of Corrections, a new regulation expected to come into effect next month may allow certain convicts with sentences under four years to seek out-of-prison detention.
Given that Yingluck has received a five-year sentence, she may be eligible for this form of detention if her sentence is commuted by one year, Sahakarn clarified.
Upon her entrance into prison, Yingluck could apply for a royal pardon to potentially reduce her sentence, according to the official.
For home detention, facilities must be equipped with CCTV, and the Department of Corrections will determine the necessity of electronic monitoring devices for individual detainees, he added.
It is important to note that the new regulation will not extend to individuals convicted of sexual offenses, violent crimes, or severe drug-related charges.
Yingluck, aged 57, has evaded capture since August 2017, when she did not attend a scheduled Supreme Court session regarding a ruling on charges stemming from a rice-pledging program that led to substantial financial losses.
She was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison, with an active warrant still in place for her arrest concerning the rice-pledging case.
Recently, her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, expressed expectations that Yingluck would return to Thailand in April of the following year.
Thaksin himself returned to Thailand last year to serve his own prison sentence, although he was hospitalized shortly after his arrival before being granted parole.
