A crashed Ferrari, a dead cop and an heir on the run: Ten years later, Thailand is no closer to solving one of its most high-profile hit-and-run cases.
Worayut “Boss” Yovidya, the prince of the Red Bull energy drink family, is accused of crashing his Ferrari into police officer Vician Clanprasert’s motorcycle in Bangkok’s affluent suburb ten years ago this Saturday. After evading prosecutors and finally fleeing Thailand on a private jet in 2017, Worayut has become a symbol of what critics say is the impunity enjoyed by the kingdom’s super-rich.
“The concept of different justice systems for different sections of society undermines public confidence in the Thai government’s ability to fulfill its responsibility to protect the human rights of all Thai people,” Amnesty International Thailand told AFP.
As the grandson of Red Bull co-founder Salyo Yovidya, who died in 2012, Worayut is part of a clan with a net worth of $26.4 billion (roughly the same in euros) – making him Thailand’s second-richest family. Forbes. “This family is very powerful, not just in Thailand, but globally,” Pavin Chachawalphongpan, a Thai political analyst at Kyoto University, told AFP.
Glamorous lifestyle
Hours after the crash, investigators followed a trail of brake fluid to the Yovidya family’s Bangkok property, where they found a dented vehicle with a broken windshield. Police initially accepted indications that an employee had driven the Ferrari, but Vorayut became the prime suspect and his family later offered $100,000 in damages to the victim’s relatives, the BBC and “The New York Times” reported.
For five years, Vorayuth played with the courtroom – claiming through lawyers that he was abroad on business or ill – and the photos documented a lavish lifestyle: living in London, attending grassroots parties, beach holidays and ski trips.
Charges of speeding, drunken driving and failure to render aid had expired before a Bangkok court issued an arrest warrant in 2017.
In 2020, Thai authorities dropped all charges against Worayut, sparking a massive public outcry – including a media campaign to boycott Red Bull. To prevent this backlash, Red Bull’s Thai parent company, TCP Group – withdrew the company from the case, saying the matter was personal.
As anger ran high and youth-led anti-government protests took to the streets, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s office ordered a review of the case, concluding the entire investigation had been “compromised”.
Nevertheless, a stark contrast could be observed between the modus operandi in the Worayut case and the swift action taken against the anti-government protest leaders. years.
The Thai Attorney General’s Office announced new charges against Worayut and Interpol issued a red notice for his arrest in September 2020. An updated version from March last year said Worayut had attempted to access the red notice and that he may have been in France at the time. The alert cited Austria – where Red Bull is based – as a possible hideout.
Payment is missing
Last month, the cocaine-use charge expired, leaving the Thai attorney general’s office with only one option to prosecute Worayut: reckless driving causing death, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Thailand’s attorney general’s office told AFP the indictment was valid until 2027. However, some expect Woraiut to face court.
“From the beginning, a lot of people already knew how this was going to end,” says political analyst Bavin Chachavalbongban, referring to the intense public anger surrounding the case. “It has become very normal in Thai society for the rich to commit crimes and get away with it, but Thais don’t accept that it’s okay.”
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