Thai Govt In The Dark Over Yingluck's Whereabouts

By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa BANGKOK, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- The Thai Government has no information whether former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is currently in the United Kingdom (UK) to seek asylum as reported by the foreign media. Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Internal Affairs Gen Prawit Wongsuwan said the government was only informed by the Foreign Ministry that she was presently in Dubai. “I don’t know,” he said when replying to media questions today, on the latest report that Yingluck had left Dubai for the UK where she reportedly planned to file a request for asylum. He declined to answer media questions whether the military government would file an extradition request if Yingluck was indeed, in the UK and was planning to seek asylum. Prawit, who is also Defence Minister, then said the media should ask the former prime minister about her future plans. Media reports on Yingluck’s presence in the UK surfaced following yesterday’s announcement by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on her current whereabouts. Prayut’s announcement that Yingluck was in Dubai ended speculations on her whereabouts after missing a vital court appointment last month. The younger sister of exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra fled Thailand after failing to turn up to hear a verdict on her involvement in the controversial rice-pledging scheme. The Supreme Court which re-sat yesterday after postponing its decision for a month following Yingluck's no-show last month found her guilty of negligence and handed down a five-year jail sentence in absentia. -- BERNAMA