Thai PM says former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is in Dubai

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Thursday former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is currently in the United Arab Emirates.

"She is in Dubai," Prayuth told reporters, adding that the Thai foreign ministry has been tracking Yingluck's whereabouts.

"The police will now have to proceed and coordinate with the Foreign Ministry and Interpol," the Prime Minister said.

Thailand's Supreme Court convicted and sentenced former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in absentia to five years in prison on Wednesday for mismanaging a rice subsidy scheme.

Aides said she had fled Thailand, fearing a harsh sentence. Last month, Reuters reported that she had escaped to Dubai, where her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, owns a home.