Reports: Ex-Thai PM Yingluck flees country ahead of corruption verdict
Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has fled the country ahead of a court verdict in a corruption scandal, the BBC has reported citing sources close to her party. The news comes after Thailand tightened border controls after Yingluck failed to show up for the verdict. The Thai Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant against her and delayed the verdict to September 27.
Yingluck failed to appear before court, lawyers claimed she's ill
On August 25, Yingluck's lawyers said their client failed to appear before the Supreme Court (SC) because she suffered from vertigo and a severe headache. The SC rejected the claim, delayed the verdict to September 27 and confiscated her bail of $900,000. Earlier, PM Prayuth Chan-ocha said authorities are monitoring all routes out of the country to track Yingluck.
Yingluck was impeached, her ex-PM brother too fled country
In 2011, Yingluck became Thailand's first female PM. She was impeached in 2015 over a rice scheme introduced by a military-backed legislature. She was charged with negligence but denies any wrongdoing. If found guilty, she faces up to 10-years in jail time and a permanent ban from politics. Her brother, ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra fled Thailand in 2008 to evade prison time over corruption.
Yingluck-launched rice scheme caused $8bn losses
The rice scheme was aimed at increasing farmers' incomes and fighting rural poverty. Under it, the government paid around twice the market rate for rice but this severely impacted Thailand's rice exports. It also caused the government loss of at least $8 billion and created mass unsold rice stockpiles. The scheme was popular among rural voters but opponents claim it was open to corruption.
