Thai ex-PM Yingluck misses verdict, arrest warrant issued: judge

Bangkok - Thai ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra missed a verdict in a negligence trial on Friday that could have seen her jailed, prompting the Supreme Court to issue an arrest warrant fearing she is a flight risk, a judge said.

Thousands of supporters - outnumbered by security forces - waited for a glimpse of Thailand's first female prime minister, but she did not show.

"Her lawyer said she is sick and asked to delay the ruling... the court does not believe she is sick... and has decided to issue an arrest warrant," fearing she may flee the country, lead judge Cheep Chulamon told the court, rescheduling the ruling date to September 27.

Yingluck's government was removed by a military coup in 2014 and, if convicted for negligence over a rice subsidy to the rural poor, she faced up to 10 years in prison and a life ban from politics.

Her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra also a former premier, fled Thailand in 2008 before he was convicted of graft and handed a two year jail term.

A conviction for Yingluck, 50, would be a gut punch to the Shinawatra political dynasty, who have clung on in Thailand's treacherous political game for more than a decade despite two coups, deadly protests, a cascade of law cases and asset seizures.

Yingluck's flagship rice subsidy poured cash on her family's rural political heartland, but was beset by graft and led to billions of dollars of losses.

In a Facebook post on Thursday Yingluck asked her followers to stay home to avoid any incidents stoked by people with "ill-intention against the country and us".

Her previous court appearances over an 18 month trial have seen crowds gather outside the court, showering her with roses and chanting support - a rare sight in a nation where political meetings remain outlawed.

The Shinawatra family emerged as a political force in 2001 when billionaire patriarch Thaksin swept to power.

He jump-started the economy and provided the most extensive pro-poor welfare schemes in Thai history.

But critics accused him of using political power to further his business interests.

He remains loathed by the Bangkok royalist elite but cherished by the rural poor.

A coup toppled him in 2006 and he fled overseas following a graft conviction.

Protests and court cases have hacked at their governments and finances, followed by the 2014 coup.

To many supporters Yingluck is finally emerging from her elder brother's shadow, drawing on a star quality absent amongst the gloomy cast of ageing generals who rule Thailand.

She has pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying she is the victim of a "subtle political game." But her enemies say a conviction is merited for a dynasty accused of graft and nepotism.

Historically the Shinawatras have been able to mobilise huge crowds of supporters - known as the "Red Shirts" - to take to the streets when the family's political fortunes have waned.

But three years of repressive junta rule has successfully quashed any widespread opposition to the military for now.