Lunch fare: Thaksin and his sister Yingluck ordering food at the Cecil Street market in George Town.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang’s famous hawker food proved too tempting for exiled VVIP siblings Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra.
The ex-Thai prime ministers were spotted at the Cecil Street market during peak lunch hour yesterday ordering koay teow th’ng and Chinese pasembur at about 1pm.
Earlier, they were seen at a foodcourt in Weld Quay.
There was no official confirmation on what their schedule was, with a source saying that it was a private holiday.
There was excitement in the air as soon as Penangites recognised them, with many approaching them for selfies, which the Shinawatras sportingly obliged to.
It is learnt that the duo were escorted by police outriders and bodyguards during their travels in Penang.
Thaksin, 73, was Thailand’s prime minister from 2001 to 2006, while Yingluck, 55, was the first Thai female prime minister, serving from 2011 to 2014.
Thaksin fled Thailand in 2008 to escape a corruption ruling and has lived in exile ever since.
A controversial 2013 amnesty Bill that would have paved the way for his return instead triggered street protests which culminated in the 2014 coup against Yingluck’s government.
She was tried in 2016 but did not appear in court in August 2017 for the verdict. An arrest warrant was issued.
Yingluck fled the country and is said to be living in London.
