Nearly 12 years after the grandson of Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya murdered a police officer, Thai prosecutors have filed charges against a former police chief, alleging that officers concealed evidence and altered key information.
Police officers are alleged to have been involved in falsifying evidence in a juicy case in Thailand – and thus helped ensure the suspect was never brought to trial. As a court charged with corruption and abuse of office announced on Thursday, prosecutors have charged Somyot Poompanmoung and seven co-defendants with “abuse of office.”
Patrol hit by Ferrari
It’s all about him: Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya, better known as ‘Boss’, is accused of running over a police officer on a motorcycle in Bangkok with his Ferrari in 2012 and dragging his body a hundred metres away.
Up to ten years in prison – heir flees
It wasn’t until 2017 that, under public pressure, the Thai judiciary issued an arrest warrant for Voravuth. The Red Bull heir then left the country on his private jet – thus avoiding prosecution. The charges against him were dropped in 2020. Some of the offences on which the charges were based had since expired. But the most serious count – reckless driving causing death – could have been punishable until 2027. The Red Bull heir faced a ten-year prison sentence for it.
The Thai legal system is now attempting to prosecute at least some of the police officers who subsequently altered the report, thereby hampering the prosecution. According to the court, the report initially stated that Vorayuth’s Ferrari was speeding at 177 km/h, but later it was said to be just under 80 km/h. The eight suspects are temporarily prohibited from leaving the country and must appear in court for the first time on 10 September.
Richest family in Thailand
The case has been followed with great interest by the Thai public, and has become a symbol for many of the kingdom’s two-tier criminal justice system that largely spares the wealthy and influential.
Vorayuth’s grandfather founded Red Bull in the 1980s with Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz. When he died in 2012, Chaleo Yoovidhya left the family an estimated fortune of $36 billion (around €32 billion), making them the richest family in Thailand, according to the American magazine Forbes. Son Chalerm now holds the reins of the Thai Bull empire.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
