Thailand’s attorney general said yesterday it would seek the arrest of an heir to the Red Bull fortune after he failed to meet prosecutors over an alleged hit-and-run that killed a police officer five years ago.
The case has raised questions about whether the Thai justice system favors the rich and famous, allowing them to break the law with impunity.
Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya missed prosecutor orders to report to court on Thursday, the eighth time he has missed a summons since legal proceedings against him began.
Vorayuth was charged with speeding, hit-and-run and reckless driving that caused the death of the policeman in 2012.
“He sent a letter requesting to move the appointment but he can’t do this again,” said Suthi Kittisuppaporn, director general of the attorney general’s Department of Southern Bangkok Criminal Litigation.
The Office of the Attorney General said in a televised statement it would seek an arrest warrant for Vorayuth.
“If we wait until the end of the business day and he doesn’t show up we will consider this deliberate evasion,” Somnuek Siangkong, spokesman for the office, told reporters.
“We will then ask police to seek an arrest warrant from the court.”
Attempts by Reuters to reach a lawyer for Vorayuth went unanswered.
Vorayuth is a grandson of the late Chaleo Yoovidhya, creator of the Kratin Daeng, or Red Bull, energy drink.
Chaleo, 88, was listed as the third richest person in Thailand at the time of his death in 2012, with an estimated net worth of USD5 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
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