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Bloody Red Bull in Thailand – Police intensify manhunt

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Thai police have been ordered to find the heir to the Red Bull drinks empire responsible for the death of a police officer in a hit-and-run accident and restore justice

Thailand’s prime minister concluded the last cabinet meeting of 2022 by ordering the Royal Thai Police to find the heir to the Red Bull empire, Vorayut “Boss” Yoovidhya, and bring him to justice, the Bangkok Post reported.

The heir to the Red Bull empire left Thailand more than a decade ago after police officer Vichian Klanprasert was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Bangkok on Sept. 3, 2012. “The Boss,” then 27, was charged with speeding, fleeing the scene of an accident and reckless driving causing death, but was never arrested.

The statute of limitations expired on the speeding charge in September 2013 and the hit-and-run charge in September 2017. Since then, Vorayut has remained at large. It was reported that the man was living in Austria, but this was not confirmed and he was never prosecuted.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has ordered the Royal Thai Police to do more to find the grandson of billionaire Red Bull co-owner Chaleo Yoovidhya.

Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri told the press that the prime minister gave the order at yesterday’s cabinet meeting after the Royal Thai Police provided an update on the case.

“General Prayut has consistently ordered the police to try to bring Vorayut back into the country. Thai police have also been instructed to speed up investigations into government officials and others involved in the case.” A spokesman for the prime minister did not go into detail about the updated details of the investigation.

Background

Staff Sergeant Vichian of the Thai police was patrolling the street on a motorcycle in Bangkok’s Thong Lo neighborhood when he was hit by a Ferrari car. The policeman’s body was dragged along the road for more than 100 meters.

Two independent teams of experts who studied the CCTV footage concluded that the Ferrari’s speed was about 177 kilometers per hour.

In August 2020, “The Boss” was charged with cocaine abuse in addition to reckless driving resulting in the death of a police officer. A warrant was then issued for his arrest under Section 58 of Thailand’s earlier 1979 Narcotics Act, which prohibited cocaine use.

However, the new drug law went into effect on December 9 last year, which meant the repeal of the 1979 Narcotics Act. Under Section 162 of the new law, which also prohibits cocaine use, the offender is subject to up to one year in prison, and the statute of limitations has been reduced to five years.

The speeding charge against “The Boss” was dropped after the one-year statute of limitations expired in 2013, and the charge of failing to assist a crash victim was dropped in 2017. The only remaining charge against him is reckless driving causing death, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and has a 15-year statute of limitations that expires in 2027.

Nate Naksuk, former director general of the Office of the Attorney General of Thailand, was found guilty of gross negligence for causing serious damage to the reputation and credibility of the agency under sections 85 and 87 of the Public Service Act of 2010. The commission made the decision after Nate dismissed a charge of reckless driving resulting in death against “The Boss” after the speed at which he was driving was retroactively reduced to less than 80 kilometers per hour.

Sessions decided that Nate deserved the harshest penalty of dismissal, but they later decided to let him keep his pension.

The whereabouts of the heir to the Red Bull empire remain unknown, and the Royal Thai Police have five more years to prosecute before the case loses relevance beyond the statute of limitations.

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