Thai defence minister pleads ignorance on former premier’s disappearance
Yingluck Shinawatra was meant to appear in court, but has disappeared despite being under heavy surveillance
Bangkok — Thailand’s defence minister said on Monday that he did not know the whereabouts of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, days after she failed to show up for a negligence ruling at which she faced up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Yingluck, whose government was ousted in a 2014 coup, fled to Dubai via Singapore, sources in her Puea Thai Party said at the weekend. Her departure leaves the populist movement that has dominated Thai politics for more than a decade leaderless. Her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in 2006 and also fled Thailand to avoid a 2008 jail sentence for corruption, has a home in Dubai. "We don’t know where Yingluck fled and whether she has asked for asylum anywhere," Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also a deputy prime minister, told reporters. "We haven’t asked for her extradition yet." Yingluck was often followed by plain-clothes police, said her aides. During a tour of some Thai pr...
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