6-8-2023 (PHNOM PENH) Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his younger sister Yingluck were spotted at Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s birthday celebration on Saturday, as reported by Cambodian media outlets.
According to Fresh News and The Phnom Penh Post, Thaksin and Yingluck were among the guests at the event, which marked Hun Sen’s 71st birthday in Ta Khmao, Cambodia.
Sources indicate that the siblings stayed overnight at the celebration.
Earlier on Saturday, Thaksin, who is 74 years old, announced a delay in his return to Thailand. He stated that he would need to postpone his arrival, initially planned for August 10, for approximately two weeks due to pending medical checkups.
Thaksin has been living in self-imposed exile since a coup ousted him from power in September 2006. Though he briefly returned to Thailand in 2008, he left the country again shortly before the Supreme Court sentenced him to jail on charges of conflict of interest.
Over the years, Thaksin has faced multiple legal battles, and Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam recently revealed that three finalized cases resulted in a cumulative jail term of 10 years for the former Thai Rak Thai leader.
His daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is currently a prime ministerial candidate for the Pheu Thai Party, which is striving to form a new government following the general election on May 14.
Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister and also a former prime minister, left Thailand in 2017 shortly before the Supreme Court sentenced her to five years in prison for her government’s corruption-riddled rice-pledging scheme.
