Yingluck trial: Thailand ex-PM 'fled to Dubai' before verdict

Thailand's ex-pm yingluck shinawatra fled to dubai ahead of the decision in her trial over a rice subsidy scheme, contributors of her party have said.
Puea thai birthday celebration sources stated ms shinawatra left thailand remaining week.
It become revealed on friday that ms yingluck, who is charged with negligence, had long gone overseas however the destination became now not recognized.
When she failed to appear in courtroom, an arrest warrant turned into issued and her bail was confiscated.
Dubai is where her brother, former top minister thaksin shinawatra, lives in self-imposed exile. He went there to avoid a 2008 jail sentence for corruption.
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"we heard that she went to cambodia and then singapore, from wherein she flew to dubai. She has arrived accurately and is there now," a senior member of the shinawatras' birthday celebration advised reuters.
Deputy countrywide police chief gen srivara rangsibrahmanakul said police had no document of ms yingluck leaving the country and were following the problem intently.
Thailand's deputy high minister wissanu krea-ngam said ms yingluck's area might "be clean soon".
Who's yingluck shinawatra?
Thais seek ex-pm after verdict no-display
Thailand on facet for trial verdict
Judges have postponed the negligence verdict till 27 september.
Ms yingluck, 50, has denied any wrongdoing within the rice subsidy scheme, which fee thailand billions of greenbacks.
If determined guilty at the quit of the two-year trial, she can be jailed for up to 10 years and completely banned from politics.
How could yingluck shinawatra have left?
Analysis via jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok
Yingluck shinawatra turned into the maximum high-profile crook defendant in thailand and turned into constantly monitored by using the army authorities. So how turned into she capable of go away the united states of america simply hours before the verdict turned into due to be read out? Immigration government say they don't have any file of her leaving the united states.
But, it's miles a poorly-concealed secret that some inside the military authorities would have been satisfied to look her depart the u . S . Earlier than the verdict.
Had she been convicted and jailed, she could have been seen as a victim by using her supporters. The government was apprehensive about their response. Acquitting her, although, might were similarly unacceptable to her tough-line warring parties, lots of them very influential.
That might also have undermined the justification for the army coup which overthrew her authorities. So it's miles unlikely anybody tried to stop her leaving, or that they'll try to get her returned.
What took place in courtroom?
Ms yingluck's legal professional had asked a put off inside the ruling, telling the best court docket that she had vertigo and a excessive headache and was unable to wait.
However the courtroom said in a announcement that it did not believe she became ill as there was no scientific certificates, and that the alleged sickness became now not intense enough to prevent her visiting to court docket.
"such behaviour convincingly suggests that she is a flight threat. As a end result, the court docket has issued an arrest warrant and confiscated the posted bail cash," the statement stated.
Ms yingluck posted $900,000 (£703,000) bail at the start of her trial.
Press wait out of doors the house of former thai top minister yingluck shinawatra in bangkok, thailand, 25 august 2017
Picture caption
Reporters waited out of doors ms yingluck's home in bangkok, looking ahead to her to attend the court
Friday's turn of occasions took many through wonder, consisting of the loads of folks that became up outside the supreme court docket in bangkok to support ms yingluck.
What is the trial about?
Ms yingluck, who became thailand's first girl top minister in 2011, become impeached in 2015 over the rice scheme via a military-sponsored legislature, which then introduced the criminal case.
The scheme, part of ms yingluck's election campaign platform, become launched quickly after she took workplace.
It became aimed toward boosting farmers' incomes and assuaging rural poverty, and saw the government paying farmers nearly twice the market fee for his or her crop.
However it hit thailand's rice exports difficult, leading to a loss of as a minimum $8bn and large stockpiles of rice which the authorities couldn't promote.
Although it became popular together with her rural voter base, combatants stated the scheme was too costly and open to corruption.
Supporters of ousted former thai prime minister yingluck shinawatra react even as watch for her on the supreme courtroom in bangkok, thailand august 25, 2017image copyrightreuters
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Masses of ms yingluck's supporters had collected out of doors the court on friday
Throughout her trial, ms yingluck had argued she become no longer liable for the daily going for walks of the scheme. She has insisted she is a victim of political persecution.
How popular is yingluck shinawatra?
Her time in workplace became overshadowed with the aid of controversy as well as strong political competition.
The youngest sister of mr thaksin, she become seen by means of her fighters as a proxy for her brother, who became controversially ousted by the navy in 2006.
Both siblings remain famous some of the rural terrible, but are hated by means of an city and middle-magnificence elite.
Their puea thai birthday party has - under diverse unique names - gained each election in thailand due to the fact that 2001.
Timeline of yingluck's rice scheme controversy
May additionally 2011- yingluck shinawatra is elected pm, and soon afterwards starts offevolved rolling out her rice subsidy scheme
January 2014 - thailand's anti-corruption authorities investigate ms yingluck in connection to the scheme
Can also 2014 - she is compelled to step down from her submit after thailand's constitutional court unearths her responsible of abuse of energy in every other case. Weeks later the army ousts what remains of her government
January 2015 - an military-sponsored legislature impeaches ms yingluck for corruption over her role in the rice scheme, which efficaciously bans her from politics for 5 years. It additionally launches felony proceedings in opposition to her
August 2017 - ms yingluck fails to appear at court docket for the verdict, claiming sick fitness. It's far later revealed she left for dubai