Ex-Thai PM Yingluck fled to Dubai

International Desk: Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra fled the country ahead of a court verdict to escape a possible 10-year jail term.

However, her supporters say the case was politically motivated, local media and officials said.

Yingluck's whereabouts were not immediately known on Saturday.

However, anonymous officials told Reuters news agency that she travelled by land to Cambodia then flew to Dubai to join her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra - another exiled former premier whose government, like hers, was toppled in a military coup.

An official of Yingluck's Pheu Thai party close to the Shinawatra family, meanwhile, told media that she was no longer in Thailand, without giving further details.

Yingluck, who became Thailand's first female prime minister when her party swept elections in 2011, is accused of negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy programme. She has denied charges as politically motivated.

Source: Agencies

risingbd/Dhaka/August 26, 2017/A K Azad