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'Yingluck' caught shopping in London
A woman believed to be fugitive ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who fled Thailand in August, was caught shopping at a mall in West London on Tuesday according to a photo posted on www.newtv.co.th. This would be the first time Yingluck has been seen in public since she fled Thailand ahead of a court ruling on her role in her administration's rice-pledging scheme.
December 30th, 2017 | 10:24 AM | 3843 views
THAILAND
In what is believed to be the first public sighting of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra since she fled the nation in August to escape a court ruling on a negligence case, the government is probing a photo posted online that shows a woman resembling the fugitive ex-politician shopping in West London.
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is investigating whether the woman in question really is Yingluck, the younger sister of ousted former premier Thaksin, after the photo surfaced on social media yesterday.
First posted on www.newtv.co.th, a digital TV site, the picture was allegedly taken on Tuesday at Westfield Shopping Centre, Shepherd's Bush.
NCPO spokesman Piyapong Klinpan said security and other agencies are probing the matter.
A source close to Yingluck said the lady in the photo is "likely" to be the former prime minister but she could not say when it was taken.
"I've visited her in England once [since August] and she was well and in good spirits. It's like she has let go of things, politically," the source said.
Yingluck is leading a "normal" life rather than acting like someone who is on the run but she still avoids places where Thai people may recognise her, the source added.
"She doesn't go out wearing a disguise but she sometimes wears sunglasses," the source said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks said the ministry has no information on the matter.
Yingluck fled after failing to show up for a negligence ruling on Sept 27.
Since then speculation has mounted that she could be residing with her brother Thaksin in Dubai or applying for asylum in the United Kingdom.
Thaksin is also a fugitive from justice after he was convicted in absentia in 2008 over a corrupt land deal.
Source:
courtesy of BANGKOK POST
by Bangkok Post
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