Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra seized the moment when the government's guard was down and slipped out of the country undetected, army chief Chalermchai Sitthisad said Tuesday.
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Army says escape plot well hatched
Wassana Nanuam & Aekarach Sattaburuth
Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra seized the moment when the government's guard was down and with help from the likes of her brother, Thaksin, slipped out of the country undetected, army chief Chalermchai Sitthisad said Tuesday.
"Her escape had been well prepared and decided in advance. She waited for the right time and opportunity," said Gen Chalermchai, who is also the secretary-general of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
He rejected claims the army let her escape.
Gen Chalermchai told reporters that the former premier managed to elude authorities after she "abandoned all of her phones and changed her cars so it was hard to trace her using the same methods we did before", AFP reported.
Ms Yingluck failed to show up at the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions last Friday to hear the ruling in the rice-pledging case, in which she was accused of dereliction of duty for failing to stop the losses and corruption which crippled the programme.
The court issued a warrant for her arrest following her no-show. She is believed to have fled to Dubai, where Thaksin lives in self-imposed exile.
The army chief admitted that there is still no clue to indicate how she escaped if indeed she fled the country.
"Someone such as the former prime minister has enough supporters and networks that would allow her to escape," said Gen Chalermchai.
She was also in touch with people knowledgeable in matters of national security who could help her slip out the country undetected, said the army chief.
He believed Mr Thaksin helped arrange Ms Yingluck's escape by arranging a private jet after she crossed by land or sea to a neighbouring country.
Meanwhile, he said, before she fled, the NCPO had slackened its monitoring of her after it had been criticised for causing intimidation, the army chief claimed.
The army chief denied claims the former premier was aided by senior figures in the current administration to leave the country, asking: "What would be an advantage of that?"
"If you say the NCPO or the army made a mistake in their supervising forces at the border, I will accept it," the army chief said.
"Do not forget that the country's border is 6,656 kilometres long, with officers deployed only at important points."
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