Explained: Why Gotabaya may have chosen Singapore, the Rajapaksas’ preferred medical destination

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Maldives on a Saudia flight bound for Singapore. Even as a stopover, Gotabaya would be at home in the small city-state

Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka in the middle of the night on July 12, arriving in the Maldives before dawn on July 13. (AP/File)

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has flown out of Maldives aboard a Saudia flight bound for Singapore, the AP reported on Thursday (July 14) afternoon quoting an unnamed Maldives official. Gotabaya and his wife had arrived in the Maldives early on Wednesday after fleeing Sri Lanka in the middle of the night.

The President and his wife had been taken to a private resort after they landed in the Maldives. It was not clear on Thursday if Singapore would be their final destination.

Explained | Why did Gotabaya Rajapaksa choose to flee to the Maldives?

But why has Gotabaya chosen Singapore to go to from the Maldives?

The precise reasons are not known yet, but there is little doubt that even as a stopover, Rajapaksa would be at home in Singapore. The Rajapaksa family has strong connections in Singapore, and both brothers Mahinda and Gotabaya have travelled frequently to the small city-state for medical reasons.

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President Gotabaya Rajapaksa underwent a heart bypass surgery at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital in May 2019, months before the presidential election of that year, which he won. His doctor there was reported to be a Sri Lankan Tamil.

In December 2021, he prorogued Parliament for four weeks and travelled to Singapore again for a medical examination.

Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has also been treated in Singapore for a medical condition.

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