Thai Ex-PM Yingluck Skips Court, Arrest Warrant Issued

Thai ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra missed a court appearance in a negligence trial on Friday that could have seen her jailed, prompting the Supreme Court to issue an arrest warrant fearing she is a flight risk

BANGKOK, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Aug, 2017 ) - Thai ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra missed a court appearance in a negligence trial on Friday that could have seen her jailed, prompting the Supreme Court to issue an arrest warrant fearing she is a flight risk.

Thousands of supporters -- outnumbered by security forces -- waited for a glimpse of Thailand's first female prime minister, but she did not show, prompting fevered speculation that she may have joined her billionaire brother Thaksin in self-exile.

"Her lawyer said she is sick and asked to delay the ruling.

.. the court does not believe she is sick... and has decided to issue an arrest warrant," fearing she may flee the country, lead judge Cheep Chulamon told the court, rescheduling the verdict to September 27.

Yingluck's government was removed by a military coup in 2014. If convicted for negligence over a flagship rice subsidy policy, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a life ban from politics. "I was told at 8am that she was sick from Meniere's disease and felt vertigo, so she asked the court to postpone," her lawyer Norawit Larleng, told a throng of reporters outside the court.