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| Southeast Asia |
| Thaksin spotted in Msia |
| 2009-07-08 |
| [Straits Times] FORMER Thai prime minister turned fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra was spotted in Malaysia recently, but left the country before he could be arrested by the authorities, Thai Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Sennian claimed on Monday. Mr Thaworn told reporters in Pattani that Thai Embassy officials had informed the Malaysian authorities that Thaksin was staying at the Shangri-La Hotel. 'Somehow, Thaksin managed to get wind of the impending arrest and escaped,' he said, without giving details. According to Thaworn, Thaksin had since left for Fiji. The policeman turned telecommunications billionaire ruled the country from 2001 to 2005 before he was ousted in a military coup on Sept 19, 2006, while he was attending the United Nations General Assembly. He came back briefly last year, after his allies won the December 2007 general election, but remained in exile to escape the two-year jail term imposed on him for abuse of power. Two prime ministers aligned to him were forced out of office and their party lost power to a coalition led by Democrat Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Thaksin has been shuttling between his exile homes in London, Dubai, Hong Kong and recently, Germany, using various passports of other countries after his passport was cancelled by the Thai Government. Despite his absence, he remains popular with the north and northeast population, which was clear during two by-elections when his allies in the Phue Thi Party won. |
| Posted by:Fred |