On Tuesday, Thai prosecutors revealed their plans to indict a former national police chief on allegations of hindering legal action against the alleged 2012 hit-and-run killer of a Bangkok police officer. The driver of the fleeing vehicle was the heir to the Red Bull energy drink company.
Many point to the case of Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya as proof that the wealthy and politically connected in Thailand may get away with impunity; multiple government officials and police personnel are now on trial for allegedly conspiring to help Yoovidhya flee the country and avoid justice.
According to Forbes magazine, Vorayuth’s grandfather, Chaleo Yoovidhya, was one of the founders of Red Bull, which makes the family worth $20 billion.
Authorities charged Somyot Poompanmoung, who served as chief of police from 2014 to 2015, and others with conspiring to help a person evade punishment by abusing their position of authority.
Last year, the National Anti-Corruption Commission accused Somyot of helping to tamper with evidence by changing the speed record of the automobile that Vorayuth was supposedly driving when the accident occurred.
According to Thai media, the Yoovidhya family paid $83,000 to Wichean’s family so that they would drop all legal action.
In 2017, just days after he departed from Thailand, a warrant was issued against him. He later had his Thai passport revoked.
The statute of limitations has run out on nearly all charges against him. Death by reckless driving, the final remaining charge, will expire in 2027.
Vorayuth has flown in private Red Bull aircraft to attend Formula One races, snowboarded in Japan, and cruised in Venice, among other things, despite the legal threats looming over him, including a Red Notice issued by Interpol.
The public was understandably outraged when an Associated Press investigation exposed his ongoing jet-set lifestyle.
No one knows where he is at the moment.
According to AP News, Vorayuth, who was 27 years old in 2012, was behind the wheel of a Ferrari when he allegedly killed a traffic cop on his motorcycle on a busy roadway in Bangkok.
On a neighboring road, police followed the Ferrari to the Yoovidhya family’s house.
That is when Vorayuth fled, enjoying a life of luxury away from home.
