Thai king, 82, leaves hospital

Feb 28, 2010, 3:00 GMT

Bangkok - Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej left hospital Saturday night after a five-and-a-half-month recuperation period that has added to the kingdom's political tensions.

King Bhumibol, 82, left Siriraj Hospital Saturday night, sitting in a wheelchair and accompanied by his favourite dog, a Thai ridgeback named Khun Thongdaeng, according to newspaper reports on Sunday.

He went to Chitralada Palace, the royal residence in Bangkok. Doctors have yet to make a statement on the king's health.

Bhumibol, the world's longest-reigning monarch, was admitted to hospital on September 19 for respiratory problems, fatigue and fever.

His lengthy recuperation period sparked stock market jitters in November on unfounded rumours about his deteriorating health, which were dismissed when the king made three public appearances.

The most recent was on his birthday, December 5, when Bhumibol left Siriraj Hospital to preside over a formal ceremony in an audience attended by the royal family, the cabinet, members of parliament and other leading figures in Thai society.

The ceremony lasted less than an hour, after which the king was whisked back to hospital.

Thailand's monarch for the past 63 years, he is an important pillar of the country's long-term political stability.

Although as a constitutional monarch he wields no executive powers, Bhumibol's lifelong career in development work has earned him the love of Thailand's rural communities and praise as a pioneer of the 'sufficiency economy' theory which has been endorsed by the United Nations.

The king has also played a pivotal role as a moderator in Thailand's often tumultuous politics, bringing the country back from the brink of conflict on several occasions in the past.

Thai society has been experiencing unprecedented political divisions and long periods of street protests since a coup toppled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra on September 19, 2006, ending his six-year rule.

Thaksin's populist policies won him a huge following among Thailand's urban and rural poor, whose plight may have been recognized by the king but were regularly ignored by past governments.

The coup left Thais bitterly divided over the Thaksin political legacy, which has come to represent the country's more democratic, egalitarian forces up against the status quo of the military, the bureaucracy, old money and staunch pro-royalist groups.

The struggle arguably reached a watermark on Friday, when the Thai Supreme Court for Political Office Holders ruled that Thaksin had deliberately abused his powers during his dual premierships to enrich his family-owned business empire.

It ruled to confiscate 1.4 billion dollars out of 2.4 billion in frozen bank accounts belong to Thaksin and his family.

Thaksin, currently living in self-exile in Dubai, has vowed to contest the ruling but urged his followers to avoid violence.

The government, led by current Prime Minster Abhisit Vejjajiva, has beefed up security in the capital this month in anticipation of violent protests before or after the court's verdict.