Ink's husband, acting as the family's representative, visited Thaksin and said that his father sent encouragement to Pheu Thai party candidates and expressed condolences to families affected by the crane collapse. Thaksin is expected to meet the parole criteria, raising hopes for his release from prison this May.
At Klong Prem Central Prison at 09:50 on 15 Jan 2026, Mr. Pitak Suksawat, husband of Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, visited Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra as the family’s representative. He came accompanied by Mr. Winyat Chatmontri, Thaksin’s personal lawyer, amid media attention and a group of Red Shirt supporters gathered outside the prison to offer encouragement.
After the approximately 30-minute visit, Mr. Pitak revealed that in his conversation with his father-in-law, Thaksin was doing well and had started to feel less lonely recently because he was able to follow news, including debates. Thaksin asked to send his encouragement to all Pheu Thai candidates. Regarding Pheu Thai candidates campaigning in various areas, Thaksin did not single out any particular individual but wished to encourage all candidates.
When asked if Thaksin felt heartened or more encouraged by the atmosphere surrounding the candidates, Mr. Pitak said his father-in-law had things to follow and was in relatively good health. He also learned about the news of a construction crane collapse onto the special express train no. 21 from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani near Ban Thanon Kot, Sikhiu district, Nakhon Ratchasima province. Thaksin felt the incident should never have happened and sent his condolences to the injured and deceased.
However, Mr. Pitak said he did not discuss details of the incident with Thaksin, but Thaksin expressed his sorrow over the event. He then ended the interview, respectfully greeting the Red Shirt supporters who waited to encourage him, who in unison said, “We support Pheu Thai to win decisively,” before departing from the prison area.
Additional information from the Department of Corrections reported that the standard parole level advancements for prisoners sentenced to definite terms occur four times annually, as specified in the ministerial regulations on benefits for such prisoners and related conditions. These occur in March, April, August, and December. Each prisoner considered for advancement must have a certificate verifying good behavior during incarceration, contributions to prison work, and consideration of the nature of their offenses and time served.
Regarding Thaksin’s parole advancement, he was sentenced by the Supreme Court to one year and taken into custody on 9 Sept 2025. He missed the August and December 2025 advancement rounds as per ministerial regulations, so he has not yet been promoted from medium to good prisoner status.
Nonetheless, Thaksin may not need to worry about promotion because under the general parole project criteria, a prisoner with a one-year sentence qualifies for parole consideration after serving two-thirds of the term or eight months. Thus, after serving eight months, Thaksin is expected to be granted parole and released in May 2026.