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Bangkok: Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra failed to board a planned flight from Beijing to Bangkok on Sunday, an airline official said, intensifying speculation he is skipping bail and going into exile.
If true, his decision to leave the country rather than fight a string of highly divisive corruption cases would signal a significant easing of the political tension that has dogged the government and Thai markets for the last three years.
On Thursday, the stock market rose four per cent as rumours swirled that Thaksin and his wife, Potjaman, who is on bail after being sentenced to three years jail for tax fraud, might not return from a trip to China to see the opening of the Olympics.
Before the weekend, spokesmen for the couple insisted they would return to Bangkok on the Sunday evening Thai Airways flight, in time for both Thaksin and Potjaman to report to the courts on Monday, as required by their bail conditions.
However, two industry officials said they did not get on the plane.
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