The latest twist in the infamous hit-and-run case involving the Red Bull heir is an admission from Bangkok’s acting police chief that officers made a mistake with the case in 2012.
“The initial investigation found an apparent flaw in the case file submitted to public prosecutors, as it did not contain a drink-driving charge but only speeding charges,” Pol. Lt. Gen. Sanit Mahathaworn said.
Sanit’s comment comes a week after national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda instructed Thong Lor police to find out why the case against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya was taking so long.
Vorayuth allegedly rammed his Ferrari into Pol. Snr. Sgt. Maj. Wichian Klanprasert’s motorcycle on Sukhumvit Soi 47 in the early hours of Sept. 3, 2012, killing the police officer.
During the incident Wichian’s body was dragged about 200 meters along the road.
Vorayuth reportedly fled the scene and was arrested several hours later at his home on Sukhumvit Soi 53.
He faced three charges: speeding, reckless driving causing death, and failing to stop his car to help the victim. The speeding charge was dropped after its one-year statute of limitations expired.
Prosecutors insist they indicted Vorayuth before the statute of limitations for a speeding charge expired but failed to proceed with the case due to the suspect’s requests for “fair treatment,” reported the Bangkok Post.
Vorayuth deferred appointments with prosecutors many times, claiming he “found new issues that needed examination to ensure fair treatment,” Lt. Somnuek Siangkong, spokesman for the Office of the Attorney-General, said yesterday.
Vorayuth, who is the grandson of Red Bull energy drink founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, has failed to appear at court five times to answer charges over the case. He cited ill health as the reason for his most recent postponement in September 2013.
The reckless driving causing death charge has a statute of 15 years while failing to stop a car to offer help has a five-year statute.
Bangkok’s acting police chief said on Monday that Thong Lor police made an obvious error by not charging Vorayuth with drink driving.
He also said he was surprised that a charge of “drink after drive” was included instead.
“Why did it have this charge? It’s not an offence. They began with drink-driving, but after the investigation they ended up with ‘drink after drive’,” he said.
In tests taken hours after the hit-and-run accident, Vorayuth had a blood alcohol concentration level of 64.8 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood, which exceeds the legal limit of 50 milligrams per 100 milliliters. But his lawyer claimed he drank alcohol after the fatal accident because he was stressed, reported the Bangkok Post.
The prosecutors did not indict Vorayuth for drink-driving “because even though the alcohol test results exceeded the legal limit, they could not tell whether Vorayuth drank before or after the accident, despite the test being conducted in the afternoon,” according to a senior prosecutor previously in charge of the case.
Sanit said the investigation into Vorayuth would also target a senior police officer who took the Yoovidhyas’ housekeeper to the Thong Lor police station allegedly to make him a scapegoat for Vorayuth.
The case of Vorayuth is just one in a long line of fatal car crashes involving the rich or famous, which most recently include Anna Reese, the Thai-English actress, who killed a police officer with her Mercedes Benz last year and then refused to take alcohol or drug tests until 12 hours after the accident. Anna has been charged with causing death by reckless driving but no court date has been set.
And Jenphop Weeraporn, 37, who was charged with reckless driving four days after he crashed his Mercedes-Benz into a car at a reported 250 kilometer per hour and killed two graduate students earlier this month. Jenphop was not tested for drink and drugs with the Ayutthaya investigator officer Pol. Lt. Col. Somsak Polpankang saying that “Jenphop did not smell of alcohol on the day of the accident.”
In regards to Vorayuth’s case, Prayut Bejraguna, deputy spokesman of the Office of the Attorney- General, said state attorneys would definitely prosecute him before the statute of limitations for the more serious charges expired, reported The Nation.
“In this case, the harshest punishment will come from the reckless driving that caused the death of another person,” he said. “We’re preparing to take him to court on this count.”
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