BANGKOK – Former self-exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his circle of relatives were sent to the hospital for contracting coronavirus, staff said Friday.
Thaksin, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, is being treated at a hospital in Dubai City, according to attendees. Family members living in the same Dubai mansion were also infected, adding their older sister Yaowapha Shinawatra, a driving force and a secretary.
Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s younger sister, is believed to be the only affected resident.
It is not known when and how the 71-year-old billionaire, who led the Thai government from 2001 until his downfall in a coup d’am in 2006, hit the coronavirus.
Thaksin fled Thailand in 2008 just before a court convicted him of corruption during his tenure. The tycoon-turned-politician insisted that the verdict had political motivations.
Despite his exile, Thaksin continued to dominate Thai politics through allied parties of his political dynasty. His sister, Yingluck, ruled Thailand through pro-Thaksin until a court overthrew him in 2014, followed by a military coup.
It’s a high-level time to test positive for coronavirus on Friday. Hours earlier, U. S. President Donald Trump also said he and his wife were inflamed with the virus.