Ex-Thai PM Yingluck flees to Dubai

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Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has fled from Thailand to Dubai, US news channel CNN reported Friday.

Yingluck's escape came just two days before a Thai court is due to deliver a verdict over her case of rice subsidies, CNN quoted "a highly-placed source" in Yingluck's Pheu Thai party as saying on Friday.

She allegedly escaped on Aug. 23 with her 15-year-old son over Singapore and flew from there directly to Dubai, CNN said.

Ousted former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra sits in a van as she leaves the Supreme court in Bangkok, Thailand, May 19, 2015. /Reuters

There was yet no official comment available from the UAE or by UAE's state media about the CNN report.

A senior member of the Yingluck's Pheu Thai party said on Friday that Yingluck left Thailand initially for Singapore on Wednesday evening.

In the past, the UAE had been the destination for several politicians seeking refuge.

In 2003, shortly after a US-led coalition toppled the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein, his former Minister of Information Muhammad Al-Sahaf, known as "Baghdad Bob" or "Comical Ali," fled to the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto relocated to Dubai after she lost elections in 1997, where she resided with her family until her return to her country in 2007.

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency