Yingluck wishes older brother Thaksin good luck

Yingluck Shinawatra with her brother Thaksin prior to his departure from Dubai airport on Aug 21. -Facebook/The Nation

BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network):Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, has wished her brother Thaksin a safe return to Thailand.

According to her Facebook post on Tuesday, she said Thaksin may have felt lonely over the past 17 years of exile, adding that it had taken him a long time to return to Thailand.

“I respect my brother’s decision,” Thaksin's younger sister said, adding that she took a photo the two of them at Dubai airport as a memento.

She also promised that she will be patient while living overseas.

ALSO READ: Self-exiled former Thai premier Thaksin returns home after 15 years

“I have an older brother who takes good care of me. But I feel frightened because this is the first time that we have not travelled together,” she said.

She also hoped Thaksin will be able to reunite with his family soon.

After his government was ousted in a military coup on September 19, 2006, Thaksin, now 74, fled the country in 2008 to avoid jail. He was found guilty in four corruption cases and sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

Yingluck reportedly fled the country in 2017 and has been living in self-imposed exile since. She was found guilty in absentia over charges of abuse of power and sentenced to five years in prison.