Thailand's deputy prime minister said he was unsure of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra's whereabouts after a Supreme Court judge said she could have fled the country after failing to attend the court today for the verdict in a negligence case against her.

"We have heard from officials that she hasn't showed up," Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters. "She could be at any hospital ... she could be ill. It's not clear whether she has fled."

"Yingluck has many homes and many cars. It is difficult to track her," he said.

The court set a new date of September 27 for the verdict, but said it would also seek an arrest warrant for Yingluck, who was ousted by a military coup three years ago, as it did not believe the reason she gave for not coming to court. Yingluck, who could be jailed for up to 10 years if found guilty, had said she was suffering from an ear problem.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.