Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra wrote on social media that now his seventh and youngest grandchild has been born, he will be back soon because at 73 years old, he wants to care of his grandchildren.
Thaksin on Monday morning wrote on Twitter that he was delighted with the news that his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra had just borne his seventh grandchild.
He added that all seven were born after he had to leave the country.
"I'd like to ask for permission to return to take care of the grandchildren because I will be 74 years old this July. See you soon," Thaksin wrote.
Ms Paetongtarn, a prime ministerial candidate from the Pheu Thai Party, wrote on Instagram that her son was named Phruethasin Suksawat and his nickname was Thasin.
She thanked everyone for giving her moral support and said she would meet the press soon when she had recovered from labour.
On Oct 21, 2008, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions sentenced Thaksin to two years in jail, convicting him of violating the National Counter Corruption Act in the Ratchadaphisek land purchase case.
He was charged with abusing his authority while being prime minister when he gave consent to his then-wife Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra to participate in the auction of 33 rai of land on Thiam Ruam Mit Road in the Ratchadaphisek area put on the block by the Bank of Thailand's Financial Institutions Development Fund.
He fled the country in 2008, just before the court handed down the sentence.
He jumped bail after attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games with his then-wife in Beijing in August 2008. The couple later divorced and she returned to Thailand.
Thaksin was stripped of his police lieutenant colonel rank in September 2015. The board of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School alumni also resolved to withdraw his alumnus achievement awards.
In 2019, His Majesty the King recalled the royal decorations bestowed on him.
In 2010 he told red-shirt protesters who supported him that he would return to join them when "the first bullet is fired" at them. Bullets were then fired.