Thai junta says police helped Yingluck escape

BANGKOK: Thailand’s deputy junta leader has accused three police officers of helping sneak ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra out of the country last month, a vanishing act that stunned the kingdom.

Yingluck, whose government was toppled by the military in 2014, has not been seen since August 25, when she failed to turn up for a court verdict in her criminal negligence trial. Thailand’s junta says it was unaware she was planning to escape -- something many Thais have found difficult to believe given the round-the-clock surveillance Yingluck frequently complained of.