Health of Thailand’s ex-PM Thaksin is still a concern

Reuters :
Thailand’s billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was still being treated in hospital on Friday and his condition remained a concern, a senior doctor said, three days after his historic return from self-exile.

Thaksin, 74, was hospitalized after suffering chest tightness and high blood pressure on the first night in prison, where he has been ordered to serve eight years for conflicts of interest and abuse of power.

“He is coughing … and from the lung X-rays, heart and lung specialists are still worried,” Soponrat Singhajaru, a senior doctor at Bangkok’s police hospital, told reporters, declining to elaborate because of patient confidentiality.

Thailand’s most famous politician arrived on a private jet to cheering crowds on Tuesday before being taken to a court, a prison and then hours later, a hospital, in dramatic events that overshadowed political ally Srettha Thavisin taking over as prime minister that same day.

Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will take on the additional role of finance minister in his cabinet, senior officials from his Pheu Thai Party told Reuters on Friday.

The Pheu Thai Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Srettha, a real estate mogul who was thrust into politics only a few months ago, is expected to choose a cabinet from his 11-party alliance in the coming week after he was endorsed as premier by parliament on Tuesday.

On Friday, Srettha said the cabinet lineup would be finalized in a few days.

As Thaksin founded The Pheu Thai Party that will lead the next government, Rumors have swirled that his return could be part of a secret agreement with his rivals, which he denies.

His critics have complained he has been given special treatment, which the hospital has rejected.