A medical interdisciplinary team at Galaya Rajana-garindra Institute spent more than six hours in a meeting to diagnose the latest symptoms of Dr Prakitpao Thomthitchong and concluded he was unable to be present in court today. None of those involved revealed any further details.

A press conference to announce the result of the diagnosis was also cancelled suddenly as the group decided to report the result only to the court.

The Criminal Court will today rule on the future of Dr Prakitpao, 37, who was placed in an institute for the mentally ill by his family.

The hearing today comes after a complaint by Pemmika Veerachatraksit, who insists she has been a very close friend of Prakitpao for nine years. She said Prakitpao was forced to undergo mental treatment despite being perfectly sane.

She sought the court order for Prakitpao to be released from the hospital.

Prakitpao's family claim he is mentally unstable.

The interdisciplinary team included doctors from Galaya Rajana-garindra Institute and outside experts such as Dr Wanpen Boonprakob, a psychiatric expert from the Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Dr Witoon Ungpraphan, an expert in Forensic Psychiatry, and Sawaeng Boonchalermvipas, a medical law expert at Thammasat University.

They talked to Prakitpao for about two hours yesterday.

Apichai Mongkol, deputy chief of the Mental Health Department who received the report, hinted: "The diagnosis of doctors at Galaya Rajana-garindra Institute has confirmed what a doctor at Srithanya Mental Hospital diagnosed."

Dr Paitoon Samudsin of Srithanya Hospital had reported that Prakitpao was suffering from a mental illness and had significant levels of ephedrine in his body. The ephedrine was believed to be the cause of his mental instability.

Apichai said the latest blood tests show the ephedrine had been totally eliminated from his body.

"If the ephedrine has been ingested into his body for a short time, he might have been able to recover within around five days, otherwise we might have to spend about a month to treat him," he said.

In a related development on the efforts to find the source of ephedrine, Crime Suppression Police (CSD) yesterday ordered Pemmika to meet with them on Thursday.

The CSD has been tracing the movements of Prakitpao in the 48 hours before his admission to Srithanya Hospital as it was presumed the ephedrine might have been ingested into his body during this time.

CSD received "useful information" after questioning members of the Thomthitchong family, but they refused to reveal any details.

A source said that among "several places" Prakitpao visited during the two days were a luxury condominium in the Saphan Kwai Area and a location outside Bangkok. Police are inquiring about witnesses who were with Prakitpao at the condominium.

According to the source, Pemmika was among those with Prakitpao during the two days before he was admitted.