Thailand: Yingluck 'fled to Dubai' ahead of verdict

Reports suggest Yingluck may have fled to the Emirati city to escape a case which she believes is politically motivated.

Facing a possible 10-year jail term, former Thai Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra fled the country ahead of a court verdict her supporters say 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 The Associated Press 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.

Read more