DUBAI — As concerns grow that Thaksin Shinawatra has once again fled Thailand just before a court ruling that could see him jailed, the former prime minister insisted his departure was proof of his commitment to the country.
“I only left Thailand so I could come back,” he told 97 Thai journalists over a Line video call from his Bombardier Global 7500 jet, cruising at 43,755 feet somewhere above the Arabian Sea.
Thaksin is due before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 9 September, for a ruling in the so-called “14th Floor Case,” which accuses him of faking illness to serve his sentence in a police hospital rather than prison. His travel, he explained, was simply part of the process of returning.
“I have a very important court case in five days,” he said, “so of course I did what any Thai would do: I left the country. If you don’t leave, how can you come back?”
The plan was to return after visiting Singapore, but his jet missed the curfew at Seletar Airport. “They close at the very pedestrian time of 22:00,” he scoffed. Diverting instead to Dubai, he reassured reporters that the Emirates Hills villa where he is staying “only looks like exile from the outside.”
“From the inside, it looks like 14,000 square feet, but it’s barely twelve, and with six full-time Thai servants it actually feels crowded. And my sister is here with all her shit–you know how women are,” he said. “Really, the only reason I came here is so that I can fly back later.”
Thaksin pledged to be present for the court’s ruling regardless of possible outcome. “If they decide I broke the law and must serve time alongside murderers and thieves, I will accept it,” he said. “Because once justice is done, I’ll just come back.”
He ended on a sentimental note: “The only thing more enjoyable than being in Thailand is the feeling of coming back to Thailand. But you can’t have that feeling if you never leave in the first place. In your own way, I’m sure you understand.”
At press time, anonymous sources confirmed Thaksin was reviewing architectural plans for a $6 million remodel of the pool house for the villa’s guest cottage, “so I can think about how awesome it looks while on my way back.”
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