July 03, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 28, 1429

SINGAPORE: Nepal’s former crown prince Paras has arrived in Singapore, a source said on Wednesday, as speculation swirled that he was planning to abandon his homeland for good.

Paras, 36, boarded a Silk Air flight to the city-state on Tuesday, a senior airport security official in Nepal said, after initial reports said he had taken a flight to Bangkok.

“What I heard... he already landed in Singapore,” said the Singapore source, who asked not to be identified and could not immediately provide further details.

It was not clear where Paras was staying.

When asked by journalists as he entered Kathmandu airport if he planned to return, Paras smiled and made no comment.

One Nepalese newspaper reported on Monday that he was leaving for Singapore and would call for his family to join him after two weeks.

On Tuesday another publication, The Himalayan Times, said the ex-prince was headed to Singapore to find a school and home for his three children and wife, but that he would not be living in the city-state himself.

It said Paras was concerned for the safety of his family following the end of the 240-year-old monarchy in the Himalayan nation, and the withdrawal of all royal privileges.

Paras’ father, King Gyanendra, became the last of the Shah dynasty on May 28 when a Maoist-dominated assembly elected the previous month decided to declare the country a republic.—AFP