On December 20, according to Thai media news, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and senior Pheu Thai Party figure Songsa revealed that he served as Thailand's Minister of Justice after the 2019 general election, when a number of government and former government personnel and representatives of the Human Rights Commission came to meet and asked for a detention place outside the prison.
He said he agreed and asked the Undersecretary of Justice and the Working Group to follow up on the matter, but he resigned as Minister of Justice before it was done. That's why his name is mentioned in the new regulations recently issued by the Thai Prison Service. Nor would it be in favour of any prisoner, he said, because it was a fair procedure in accordance with international principles.
When asked by a reporter whether Thaksin complies with the new rules, Songsa replied that he does, because as far as he knows, the sentence is not more than four years, and the person concerned has not done anything that is fearful to society, but a punishment that does not pose a threat to society, and is within the controllable range and the sentence is less than one year.
When asked if it was unusual for Thaksin to be in good health when he was abroad, but then fell ill after returning home, Songsa said: "Because you [the journalist] have not been imprisoned, you can try for a few days, and you will feel stressed, because you will not be able to sleep because of the loss of your freedom and what you once had, especially if you are elderly people who have high blood pressure and get sick." ”