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BANGKOK: Thailand's influential former premier Thaksin Shinawatra left the country late on Thursday (Sep 4), according to two sources and Thai media reports, a day before a parliamentary vote for the next prime minister and ahead of a court ruling that could see him jailed.
The departure of the billionaire Thaksin, who spent a total of 15 years in self-imposed exile, comes as the coalition government of the ruling Pheu Thai party he founded is in turmoil, facing a major challenge from a rival party ahead of Friday's house vote.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will rule on a case involving Thaksin that could potentially see him serve prison time, which he avoided following his vaunted return to Thailand in 2023 by spending his entire detention in hospital on medical grounds.
The sources who confirmed Thaksin's departure declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to media. A Pheu Thai spokesperson declined to comment.
Thaksin's lawyer Winyat Chatmontree told Reuters he was not aware of Thaksin leaving the country, but said there was no court order prohibiting him from doing so.
"He always said he would go to court on September 9," Winyat said.
A Pheu Thai Party source told Reuters that Thaksin had travelled to Singapore for a medical check-up and was expected to return to Thailand on Friday.
TURBULENT PAST
Thaksin, 76, is the driving force behind the embattled ruling Pheu Thai party and the father of the recently dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who held power for just a year before she was sacked by a court last week.
Paetongtarn was the sixth premier from or backed by the billionaire Shinawatra family to be removed by the military or judiciary in a tumultuous two-decade battle for power between the country's warring elites.
The polarising billionaire spent years living in London and Dubai to avoid jail for abuse of power and conflicts of interest, before returning to Thailand to serve his sentence, hours before a Pheu Thai prime minister took office.
Thaksin's term was commuted from eight years to one year after a royal pardon and he spent six months in a VIP wing of a hospital, before being released on parole in February 2024.
The Supreme Court verdict on Tuesday will decide whether the time he spent in hospital counts as time served.
Pheu Thai has been struggling to garner support since suffering the loss of Paetongtarn, triggering a scramble for power to unseat the party that has dominated Thai politics for a quarter of a century, winning five of the past six elections.
Earlier on Thursday, Pheu Thai said it would nominate Chaikasem Nitisiri, a veteran lawyer with limited cabinet experience, to go head-to-head with Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul for the premiership vote.
