Thailand's Yingluck fled at the 'last minute' fearing harsh sentence, say aides

[Dipterocarp]

The decision to bail might have been recent. However, Everything was structured in advance. Remember they could not find any assets to freeze?

"Nicaraguan Diplomatic Passport", Millions in overseas banks. No country will extradite her to a Junta to face political charges under such a judicial system. Probably already has the Villa in Dubai decorated to her tastes with closets pre-stocked with clothes.

 

Put the kid in a Swiss boarding school he'll Ski for Thailand in the Winter Olympics.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dogmatix]

An interesting point that has been overlooked by the Thai media I have seen is that Yingluck's son, Nong Pike, is still in Thailand. That would certainly stop her from speaking too candidly for now about how she was allowed to escape.  I am sure she would hate to read he had had a nasty accident.  There are also a lot of other Shin relatives living normal lives and doing business in Thailand.  It seems not in the interests of either party to reveal any collusion to do with her escape.  Yingluck and Thaksin would look bad in front of their supporters for doing a deal that spared Yingluck but left Boonsong et al, who just carried out Thaksin's instructions, to go down hard, as well as appearing to abandon the rural poor who voted for them twice by not staying to fight for justice, in their eyes.  

 

The junta stand to get a severe backlash from the die hard yellows, hitherto their main civilian support base, if their complicity in the escape is confirmed.  They are already furious that Somchai was acquitted by the Supreme Court over the killing and maiming of their supporters in 2008, along with Pravit's brother, and that the NAAC seems reluctant to appeal the decision.  They wanted Yingluck in jail, as a Thaksin proxy, regardless of the consequences.  The junta hope to be able to maintain their current implausible denials and orders to the media to give them the benefit of the doubt that already stretch credibility to the max.   To make things appear more convincing one would have thought they would have immediately ordered searches of Yingluck's many properties and those of family and friends to try to find her, rather than give the impression that they knew full well she had already left the country.   

 

 

[worgeordie]

" She always plans things very carefully. ",except the rice scheme,or maybe it

went down the way it was supposed too,some people got very rich from it,the

farmers not so much.

regards worgeordie

[CGW]

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

Rubbish, i think that she had a plan B in minds all along, and as the

article stated that she like to carefully plans everything, and I'm sure

that her brother was also on the plan to bolt at the fist sign of things

going south for her..... the choice of fight of flight was cast long time

ago....

So she is not as stupid as some make her out to be?

Edited August 29, 2017 by CGW

[Dogmatix]

4 minutes ago, Dipterocarp said:

The decision to bail might have been recent. However, Everything was structured in advance. Remember they could not find any assets to freeze?

"Nicaraguan Diplomatic Passport", Millions in overseas banks. No country will extradite her to a Junta to face political charges under such a judicial system. Probably already has the Villa in Dubai decorated to her tastes with closets pre-stocked with clothes.

 

Put the kid in a Swiss boarding school he'll Ski for Thailand in the Winter Olympics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The issue of bail might well have confused the issue.  If she was certain she could get bail pending appeal in the event of conviction, that would theoretically have given her a lot more time to consider fleeing.  I think they also had some optimism after the acquittal of Somchai et al on the lack of intent defence that she might actually be acquitted and it would have been a huge win, if she dared to show up to the court and got acquitted.  However, this optimism might have given way to realism and the catalyst might well have been a real or pretend leak from the court.  Yingluck's case was not really very similar to Somchai's anyway and apart from anything else Pravit's younger brother was a co-defendant.  The A-G had refused to take the case and the NAAC had to prosecute it by itself without any skilled prosecutors.  The the board of the  NAAC changed with a former subordinate of Pravit's accused brother becoming chairman and the NAAC tried unsuccessfully to drop the case completely.  The circumstances were completely different anyway, since the case was to do with a one-day operation to disperse rioters from parliament, whereas Yingluck's case was to do with failure to prevent corruption over the course of a fairly lengthy period of time, during which she was officially warned about corruption by several government agencies but did nothing meaningful to stop.  My guess is that she will be convicted on the grounds she had the intent to do nothing about it.  Being denied bail would have been a very significant risk.

 

        

[realenglish1]

5 hours ago, smedly said:

I honestly do not believe she has gone anywhere, and until there is proof produced that she left the country I will remain unconvinced 

 

show the evidence 

You can bet she is gone No reason to stay other than face jail time They cannot locate her assets They have been ferried out of the country So what else is new She is gone Believe it 

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

god this is more exciting than those thai soapies   !! 

 

What's will the next episode bring  ?  

Lots of "boings".

[wgdanson]

6 hours ago, smedly said:

I honestly do not believe she has gone anywhere, and until there is proof produced that she left the country I will remain unconvinced 

 

show the evidence 

My son is a singer in Dubai, and on Saturday night he told me some fit looking Thai ExP<deleted> came in to sing karaoke, accompanied by some old looking Thai geezer.

Edited August 29, 2017 by metisdead
Profane acronym removed.

[abhaya]

If you lock her up she's a martyr and likely to cause more unrest from prison, if you let her escap,e she is out of the picture and the Junta can say how dishonest she is and wash their hands of being complicit in her jailing. Win win for both sides.

 

[wgdanson]

33 minutes ago, Dipterocarp said:

The decision to bail might have been recent. However, Everything was structured in advance. Remember they could not find any assets to freeze?

"Nicaraguan Diplomatic Passport", Millions in overseas banks. No country will extradite her to a Junta to face political charges under such a judicial system. Probably already has the Villa in Dubai decorated to her tastes with closets pre-stocked with clothes.

 

Put the kid in a Swiss boarding school he'll Ski for Thailand in the Winter Olympics.

 

 

 

 

 

Has she ever been to Nicaragua.

 

[Dogmatix]

The appeal of Boonsong et al will be interesting.  The constitution allows an appeal in person within 30 days according to the procedures to be set out in the organic law which is still being written by the Constitutional Drafting Committee. Although the Supreme Court has said that they may appeal,  my guess is that the Constitutional Court will have to be asked to rule to confirm that this is actually possibly in lieu of the organic law and, if so, on what terms.   In Yingluck's case, this must have been a risk to weigh up.  The waiting time till the appeal trial might have been rather short or non-existent depending on a Constitutional Court ruling and this time night have had to be spent in jail anyway.     

 

I believe that the evidence against Boonsong et al was very convincing and there is no doubt in my mind that he was paid a couple of hundred million baht to facilitate the fake export trades which must netted in the region of B6 billion in profit for persons other than himself and his co-defendants, who must have been paid relatively paltry amounts.  Unsubstantiated rumour has it that he was prevented from fleeing abroad by the masterminds if he wanted his family to remain safe in Thailand.  Now he is in the prison hospital suffering from sinus complaints and allergies facing the rest of his life in prison without medication or adequate medical care, while the authorities are busy confiscating his family's assets.   

 

He is unlikely to be able to present any new evidence that would secure an acquittal or a survivable sentence.  News today suggests he is under pressure to spill the beans as the only way to get a sentence reduction.  The fact that Yingluck has got off scot free may or may not influence his decision but I would think he now has nothing left to lose.  He might feel that the downside for spilling the beans would be to get murdered in prison which is a significant risk to any prisoner anyway in Thai jails.  But without cooperation he stands no other chance of a reduced sentence and ultimately a pardon.     

[Dogmatix]

2 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Has she ever been to Nicaragua.

 

No, but, as PM, she did make a mysterious state visit to Montenegro.  Since Thailand has virtually no trade or other contact with the country the only plausible reason for the trip was to sign her citizenship papers and pick up her first Montenegrin passport against a rainy day, which has now arrived.  

Edited August 29, 2017 by Dogmatix

[stephen tracy]

1 hour ago, halloween said:

Her supporters have to claim last minute if they wish to maintain that she left with junta assistance, or knowledge at least. If the junta knew she was leaving, why would they block her supporters from attending? They could be generous, even offer free buses, so that thousands could travel long distances to stand around in the sun until informed they had been stood up, and their darling had done a bolt for Dubai or wherever.

 

Ha ha, the jokes on you.

Ummm... cause the supporters were planning on showing up, maybe?  It makes she left with junta assistance.  Letting her stay would have been a major headache for Prayut and Co. regardless of the verdict.  Now this is just pure speculation but a possible scenario could have been a deliberate tip-off from the powers that be informing her that she could either flee or face a hefty sentence during which she would at some point hang herself with a sock. 

[stephen tracy]

Quote

 

Either way the junta hasn't come off looking very good (as usual) after this.  Either the junta was complicit, which means Prayut is lying (no surprises there) or the junta wasn't complicit, which means they were negligent and incompetent. 

[halloween]

4 minutes ago, stephen tracy said:

Ummm... cause the supporters were planning on showing up, maybe?  It makes she left with junta assistance.  Letting her stay would have been a major headache for Prayut and Co. regardless of the verdict.  Now this is just pure speculation but a possible scenario could have been a deliberate tip-off from the powers that be informing her that she could either flee or face a hefty sentence during which she would at some point hang herself with a sock. 

Yes, I know they were planning to show up. That was the point, if she was not and the junta knew it, the more the better, all feeling betrayed, disappointed, foolish.

As for your BS speculation, it sounds like self-serving rubbish to excuse a bail-jumping criminal.

[stephen tracy]

2 minutes ago, halloween said:

Yes, I know they were planning to show up. That was the point, if she was not and the junta knew it, the more the better, all feeling betrayed, disappointed, foolish.

As for your BS speculation, it sounds like self-serving rubbish to excuse a bail-jumping criminal.

Well, I did say it was merely speculation.  After all, people do have an uncanny knack of dying in custody in Thailand... often involving at least one sock. 

[jayboy]

14 minutes ago, Dogmatix said:

The appeal of Boonsong et al will be interesting.  The constitution allows an appeal in person within 30 days according to the procedures to be set out in the organic law which is still being written by the Constitutional Drafting Committee. Although the Supreme Court has said that they may appeal,  my guess is that the Constitutional Court will have to be asked to rule to confirm that this is actually possibly in lieu of the organic law and, if so, on what terms.   In Yingluck's case, this must have been a risk to weigh up.  The waiting time till the appeal trial might have been rather short or non-existent depending on a Constitutional Court ruling and this time night have had to be spent in jail anyway.     

 

I believe that the evidence against Boonsong et al was very convincing and there is no doubt in my mind that he was paid a couple of hundred million baht to facilitate the fake export trades which must netted in the region of B6 billion in profit for persons other than himself and his co-defendants, who must have been paid relatively paltry amounts.  Unsubstantiated rumour has it that he was prevented from fleeing abroad by the masterminds if he wanted his family to remain safe in Thailand.  Now he is in the prison hospital suffering from sinus complaints and allergies facing the rest of his life in prison without medication or adequate medical care, while the authorities are busy confiscating his family's assets.   

 

He is unlikely to be able to present any new evidence that would secure an acquittal or a survivable sentence.  News today suggests he is under pressure to spill the beans as the only way to get a sentence reduction.  The fact that Yingluck has got off scot free may or may not influence his decision but I would think he now has nothing left to lose.  He might feel that the downside for spilling the beans would be to get murdered in prison which is a significant risk to any prisoner anyway in Thai jails.  But without cooperation he stands no other chance of a reduced sentence and ultimately a pardon.     

I don't know much (actually nothing at all!) about Boonsoong except what I have read in the press recently.But I am intrigued about the fact there is "no doubt in your mind he was paid a couple of hundred million baht" for his complicity in illegal trades.Was this reported on and was evidence provided in the trial? Or did you just make it up?

[jayboy]

18 minutes ago, Dogmatix said:

The appeal of Boonsong et al will be interesting.  The constitution allows an appeal in person within 30 days according to the procedures to be set out in the organic law which is still being written by the Constitutional Drafting Committee. Although the Supreme Court has said that they may appeal,  my guess is that the Constitutional Court will have to be asked to rule to confirm that this is actually possibly in lieu of the organic law and, if so, on what terms.   In Yingluck's case, this must have been a risk to weigh up.  The waiting time till the appeal trial might have been rather short or non-existent depending on a Constitutional Court ruling and this time night have had to be spent in jail anyway.     

 

I believe that the evidence against Boonsong et al was very convincing and there is no doubt in my mind that he was paid a couple of hundred million baht to facilitate the fake export trades which must netted in the region of B6 billion in profit for persons other than himself and his co-defendants, who must have been paid relatively paltry amounts.  Unsubstantiated rumour has it that he was prevented from fleeing abroad by the masterminds if he wanted his family to remain safe in Thailand.  Now he is in the prison hospital suffering from sinus complaints and allergies facing the rest of his life in prison without medication or adequate medical care, while the authorities are busy confiscating his family's assets.   

 

He is unlikely to be able to present any new evidence that would secure an acquittal or a survivable sentence.  News today suggests he is under pressure to spill the beans as the only way to get a sentence reduction.  The fact that Yingluck has got off scot free may or may not influence his decision but I would think he now has nothing left to lose.  He might feel that the downside for spilling the beans would be to get murdered in prison which is a significant risk to any prisoner anyway in Thai jails.  But without cooperation he stands no other chance of a reduced sentence and ultimately a pardon.     

I don't think the likes of Boonsoong are at much risk in Thai prisons.He does not fall into the category of prisoner (or suspect) where detention could easily be a death sentence.

[Dexlowe]

Thai CNN are reporting that Yingluck was kidnapped by Barisan Revolucionary Nasional which is demanding that the junta withdraw its troops from the South or they will give her back.

[digger70]

Laugh from the century,,,,Same as all the Other bad Birds Flew away,,,,  

[craftyone]

A "path" out was surely created long ago by key junta players whilst the door was always left wide open principally to prevent the creation of a martyr, especially now, so close to the upcoming ceremonies for Rama IX.

The junta has always needed her out of sight/out of mind to carry out their "plans" with limited collateral damage.

This smoke/mirrors game has been played for centuries.




Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[spidermike007]

There is almost no doubt she was "let go". Thai airspace is highly restricted. It is some of the most restricted airspace in the world. There is less than a 1% chance she could have left without being given permission. There is less than a 1% chance she left by land. This is just not the way she rolls. She left by air, in a private jet. How many private jets are there in Thailand? And how hard is it to keep track of them? Not hard at all.

 

Also, when he claims they were not watching her, that is patently false. Of course they were. She was up on charges, for the biggest trial of the decade. The chances of them not watching her were less than zero. She was let go. It was probably decided at the highest levels, that this was the best outcome for all. And now the little man is playing the same inane game of deflection that Trump plays daily. Just say it, and a percent of the people will buy it. Well, this guy does not. And neither do most. 

 

This is one of the most disingenuous people we have seen, in a very long time. He would say absolutely anything, if he thinks it would serve his purposes. Of course they "let Yingluck flee". It was the simplest outcome for them. It was their way of avoiding complications, and there is a very good chance that someone got a very nice bonus out of the deal.

[Saladin]

If I was Yingluck I would have done a runner too, given that her offsider got 42 years in the can, which is a sentence you wouldn't even get for mass murder in the West.

 

[impulse]

9 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

There is almost no doubt she was "let go". Thai airspace is highly restricted. It is some of the most restricted airspace in the world. There is less than a 1% chance she could have left without being given permission. There is less than a 1% chance she left by land. This is just not the way she rolls. She left by air, in a private jet. How many private jets are there in Thailand? And how hard is it to keep track of them? Not hard at all.

 

I don't disagree with your premise, but I suspect there were dozens of routine private jet flights that day, and she could have hitched a ride on many of them without raising any suspicion at all of the flight itself.

 

The challenge would have been getting from her carefully watched digs to the airport.  But I also suspect that service people and guests come and go by the dozens, and it may have been pretty easy to hop into a blacked out limo as if she were just another guest.  And the average cop or soldier watching the place wouldn't dare stop an Elite's limo and demand they roll down the window to see who's in the back seat.

 

Edited August 29, 2017 by impulse

[coulson]

V interesting smedly, you might well be right. After all, much easier to escape when nobody is looking for you. I would have expected her to have surfaced in some swanky mall somewhere in a far flung place by now. The plot thickens...

 Whether she in fact left or not, she would not be touting herself in the media. Best lay low, maybe as part of a deal or just common sense, to figure out what next, let everyone forget about it in its due course and......get entertained by a bunch of bumbling fools scrambling around not knowing what to tell the media.

 

I imagine her immediate focus would be to come out when she has her story straight for the international world.....and her supporters back home.

 

 

 

 

 

[gk10002000]

Don't be surprised if the Junta publishes a "court" ruling saying she was innocent!  Then they can really shame her for leaving.

[gk10002000]

16 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I don't disagree with your premise, but I suspect there were dozens of routine private jet flights that day, and she could have hitched a ride on many of them without raising any suspicion at all of the flight itself.

 

The challenge would have been getting from her carefully watched digs to the airport.  But I also suspect that service people and guests come and go by the dozens, and it may have been pretty easy to hop into a blacked out limo as if she were just another guest.  And the average cop or soldier watching the place wouldn't dare stop an Elite's limo and demand they roll down the window to see who's in the back seat.

 

I recently watched the "Absolutely Fabulous" movie.  The TV show was funnier, but the scene where the two sneak out of the house dressed as the two ladies that went in to the house earlier comes to mind

[halloween]

56 minutes ago, jayboy said:

I don't know much (actually nothing at all!) about Boonsoong except what I have read in the press recently.But I am intrigued about the fact there is "no doubt in your mind he was paid a couple of hundred million baht" for his complicity in illegal trades.Was this reported on and was evidence provided in the trial? Or did you just make it up?

How do you live in Thailand, post about the people and their business practices, and know nothing at all about one of the biggest crimes in this country so far this century?

[Dipterocarp]

No, but, as PM, she did make a mysterious state visit to Montenegro.  Since Thailand has virtually no trade or other contact with the country the only plausible reason for the trip was to sign her citizenship papers and pick up her first Montenegrin passport against a rainy day, which has now arrived.  

Big brother reported to carry Montenegrin one also. St. Kitts and Nevis, etc. There are many pay to play citizenships available around the world. Republic of Marshall islands (visa free travel to America) was flat out selling passports to Chinese until somehow US put the kibosh on it.

[Baerboxer]

7 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

What an outrageous statement!

 

The Junta has said that they did not know the verdict in advance, and I really really, really believe them.

 

 

 

Or there again, she knew she was as guilty as hell, of the actual charge and was hoping for a slapped wrist max.

 

Pretty hard to be acquitted you offer no defense or mitigation to the actual charge.

 

So someone tipped her off, that in the likely event of a guilty verdict she'd receive a stiff sentence. So she bottled it and did a runner. And couldn't give a monkey's.

 

Classy.