Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya accused of killing policeman

[bumblebee]

"The heir to the Red Bull empire has been arrested on suspicion of killing a police officer in a hit-and-run incident in Bangkok, Thailand."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/red-bull-heir-vorayuth-yoovidhya-accused-of-killing-policeman-after-ferrari-hitandrun-in-thailand-8102826.html

[Kahuna]

Tragic...Especially with the cop's attempted cover up...

Couple more pics...

Sure did fuck up his Ferrari...Blame it on the Italians...

But I suuppose he coulda killed the cop in a Ricer as well...

[deepthroat]

Even more interesting were the comments posted by readers after the article. Should be interesting to see how this one turns out.

[Snick]

It was determined that the cop on the bike ran into the Ferrari and that Vorayuth was innocent of manslaughter, he was found guilty of fleeing the scene of a crime and ordered to serve 6 months, reduced to 3 for cooperating with the court.

Bangkok post March 2 2017

[mardhi]

It was determined that the cop on the bike ran into the Ferrari and that Vorayuth was innocent of manslaughter, he was found guilty of fleeing the scene of a crime and ordered to serve 6 months, reduced to 3 for cooperating with the court.

Bangkok post March 2 2017

That 3 months prison time is considered as time spent - as he was held on remand after the incident - however upon enquiries no records could confirm him being inside a prison, although 20 witnesses came forward and said yes he was there. All the witnesses families are now driving around in brand new pickups by pure coincidence.

[Kahuna]

It was also reported that the entire BKK police force has resigned in protest...

[pdogg]

Back to the real news for just a moment, a forensic expert estimated the Ferrari was going 200 km/hr.

This was on Sukumvit near Soi 47.

[pdogg]

NBC's take on the situation:

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/05/13681524-car-crash-politics-laws-dont-touch-rich-in-thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand – Shortly before dawn on Monday in an upscale area of Bangkok, a 27-year-old Thai man driving a Ferrari crashed into a policeman on a motorcycle. The driver dragged him more than 100 yards along the road before fleeing the scene. The policeman, 47-year-old Sgt. Maj. Wichien Glanprasert, was killed.

The furious reaction to the incident this week has shown one thing above all: most Thais have no faith in their justice system.

‘I don’t believe in Thai justice’

The driver of the car was Vorayuth Yoovidhya, scion of one of the richest families in Thailand. His grandfather, Chaleo Yoovidhya, founded the Red Bull energy drink empire. Forbes magazine ranked the family as Thailand's fourth richest (not including the royal family) earlier this year with a net worth of $5.4 billion.

Thais know from long experience that the wealthy are rarely held accountable for their crimes.

“As long as you are rich and powerful, you can get away with everything,” said 40-year-old Ubonwan Weeyanond. “I don’t believe in Thai justice, it’s only a privilege for the rich, not for poor people.”

Vorayuth fled back to his family's compound after the accident – police followed oil streaks for several blocks to the gate of the family mansion.

Str / AFP - Getty Images Vorayuth Yoovidhya, the 27-year-old grandson of late Red Bull founder Chaleo Yoovidhaya, during the police investigation on Monday.

The family then enlisted the help of local police official Lt. Col. Pannapon Nammuang to concoct a tale that somebody else – the family driver – had been at the wheel when the accident happened, according to Bangkok police.

But online outrage forced the police to change their tune.

Bangkok’s top police official, Lt. Gen. Comronwit Toopgrajank sidelined Pannapon (who denied wrongdoing, but admitted knowing the family well) and declared he would bring the culprit to justice.

"We will not let this police officer die without justice. Believe me," Comronwit said Tuesday. "The truth will prevail in this case. I can guarantee it."

Vorayuth was charged with causing death by reckless driving and escaping arrest by police, but was released on $16,000 bail Tuesday.

Comronwit said that Pannapon, the officer who allegedly tried to cover up the crime, could be fired and brought up on criminal charges, according to a Bangkok Post report on Wednesday.

‘Do they think people are stupid?’

Still, Thais remain skeptical that the wealthy young man will see the inside of a prison cell.

“Thai police often make someone a scapegoat. They should not cover up the case because how many people in this country have a Ferrari?” said Varattaya Intarakong, a 38-year-old business owner. “Do they think people are stupid? But I believe that this guy will not be jailed.”

This wouldn’t be the first time the child of a wealthy and influential Thai person got off without punishment after committing a crime.

In a notorious case in December 2010, a 16-year-old girl driving a Honda Civic without a license collided with a passenger van that spun out of control. Nine people were killed in the crash. But the girl who caused the crash came from a privileged family and received only a two-year suspended sentence.

‘Teach him how to be responsible’

Vorayuth's case has generated particular anger because he failed to stop to help the policeman, and tried to get a member of his family's staff to take the blame instead.

Several Thais commented online that people who try to shift the blame onto a scapegoat should not be granted bail.

The dead policeman's brother, Pornanand Glanprasert, said he's particularly bitter about Vorayuth's failure to stop and help.

“I can't accept how the driver hit my brother and sped away. If he hit him and got out of the car immediately, my brother might have survived,” said Pornanand. “When I realized that he’s a son of well-known people, I want his family to teach him how to be responsible, not run away like this.”

The issue of "double standards" for the wealthy and privileged is highly politically charged in Thailand. Many Thais argue that the courts sell justice to the highest bidder, and the tattered reputation of Thailand's judiciary has sunk even lower in recent years due to several clumsy political interventions by the courts.

But the prospects for things to improve appear dim. The current Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubumrung was himself involved in an infamous case a decade ago when several witnesses saw his son, Duang Yubumrung, murder a policeman in a nightclub with a pistol.

Duang went on the run for months, the family invented a mysterious scapegoat who they claimed was actually to blame, and witnesses began changing their testimony -- suddenly declaring that perhaps Duang was not the shooter after all.

When he came out of hiding, Duang was cleared of murder, and despite widespread public revulsion, the distasteful saga did not damage his father's political career.

Monday's incident is just the latest in a series of Ferrari crashes in Asia that have exposed national political divisions.

In Singapore, where many residents are concerned about the level of immigration, particularly from mainland China, there was widespread outrage over an accident in May. A wealthy Chinese man crashed his Ferrari at high speed into a taxi, killing himself, the taxi driver and a Japanese woman who was a passenger in the taxi.

And in China an explosive story concerning another Ferrari crash is creating a political storm in Beijing.

The South China Morning Post reported this week that a Ferrari crash in March -- which was swiftly covered up -- killed Ling Gu, the 23-year-old son of one of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s most trusted aides, Ling Jihua.

The younger Ling was allegedly driving recklessly with two semi-naked girls when the crash happened, leaving one of them paralyzed, according the newspaper.

The newspaper says his father's political career was damaged by his attempts to cover up the crash. Perhaps it’s a sign that even China's powerful have less impunity than Thailand's wealthy.

[Luung]

That's right PDogg.

But what really irks me about this, is that less than a handful of years after another privaliged, 'high so' brat in a fancy car got off with ploughing into a bus stop full of people in BKK just because he was pissed off & also now, in the wake of the hearing of the little girlie, 'high so' brat, who wrote of 9 people on an express way in BKK (including several master's students who might have actually done some good in this world one day), this prick & his dad try to blatantly cover up even more putrid recklessness!!! And they've committed these crimes with impunity figuring that because of their status they're above common law & that there's no other tab to pick up other than some sort of cursory compensation to be paid out!

The contempt for ordinary people which was shown by the first two nitwits was absolutely staggering & I dare say that as this case progresses, you'll see more of the same!

Apparently they haven't got the results from the breathalyser yet??? You can just imagine the scene at the local 'Old Bill Shop', where the un paid offs & the paid offs have been fighting over the test results for the past couple of days.

Shit, the first one who was paid off is being transferred... What a fuckin' punishment!.. And the parking attendant who tried to take the fall for the kid is getting his wrists slapped.

Chiang Mai being an 'old money town', we see more than enough of these spoilt pricks gauging themselves & then tearing up the highways in fancy machines, not giving a fuck about anyone, because momie & daddy will 'get it all sorted'... "And the poor people are only scum anyway, aren't they, hardly worth worrying about".

I know, I got taken out by one last month & I've got two cracked ribs... And you guessed it; they just drove off onto the next night club!

I've always said it, 'there ain't nothing more dangerous in this country than a rich Thai in a motor, they'll just go through you if you're in their way!

Honestly, it's getting to be fuckin' terrifying out there late at night.

[Jimslim]

Well said brother Lung .

[pacman]

"And the poor people are only scum anyway, aren't they, hardly worth worrying about".

Very little shocks me these days but the first time I came across this mentality in LOS, I was amazed. Now I know it is just the way it is. Money is power & without money, justice is just a dream.

In Pattaya a few years back, a Hi-So Bangkok lad was with his mates in a bar on Second Road. A local guy was sitting with the sole of his foot visible. This enraged the young scion who went to his car, returned with his gun & shot the guy dead. His party then left the bar.

The police were called, the guy was identified, there were witnesses but the police took no action. On enquiring they were assured that this young fellow wasn't in Pattaya at the time so he couldn't have done it. The police accepted the story & did nothing about it.

The only problem was - he left his car parked outside the bar. When it was pointed out to them, they threatened the barowner with prosecution for trying to cause trouble. They weren't prosecuted because they also had connections. But they did have to close the bar.

BTW, that Ferrari costs over a million dollars in LOS. I am sure his insurance company will fix it because an insurance clerk simply couldn't question whether the claim was allowable or not. Not if he wanted to keep his job he couldn't.

[Luung]

Very little shocks me these days but the first time I came across this mentality in LOS, I was amazed. Now I know it is just the way it is. Money is power & without money, justice is just a dream.

In Pattaya a few years back, a Hi-So Bangkok lad was with his mates in a bar on Second Road. A local guy was sitting with the sole of his foot visible. This enraged the young scion who went to his car, returned with his gun & shot the guy dead. His party then left the bar.

The police were called, the guy was identified, there were witnesses but the police took no action. On enquiring they were assured that this young fellow wasn't in Pattaya at the time so he couldn't have done it. The police accepted the story & did nothing about it.

The only problem was - he left his car parked outside the bar. When it was pointed out to them, they threatened the barowner with prosecution for trying to cause trouble. They weren't prosecuted because they also had connections. But they did have to close the bar.

BTW, that Ferrari costs over a million dollars in LOS. I am sure his insurance company will fix it because an insurance clerk simply couldn't question whether the claim was allowable or not. Not if he wanted to keep his job he couldn't.

Truly awful Paxo! But likewise, not surprised... And all the time the ‘Hi So’s’ prop up the system of feudalistic patronage & ignore any advancement of democracy, nothing’s gonna change! We need some cataclysmic catastrophe & a complete financial collapse for that... And I don’t see that happening any time soon, so unfortunately our outrage is pretty impotent, to say the least.

TV & movie stars openly state that they’re above the system, rich brats kill people with impunity and get off, MP's & virtually all other officials are corrupt to the very core, the police force is the biggest criminal gang in the country, Graft busters get sidelined or replaced for doing their jobs & the government is run by proxy for a leader who lives in exile running away from his crimes... So go figure.

Anyway, here’s another one for you... Do you remember the little tank of a girl who won a weight lifting gold for Thailand in the Sydney Olympics? Well upon her return to Thailand she was awarded her dream job ‘to become a captain in the army’ & was also presented with a shinny, brand new, sprawling house in a rather expensive BKK suburb, where she did what any self respecting celeb would do & held a huge house warming party, where she shot a 27yr old man... Aparently for being rowdy!

It was in the Bangkok post, one small article & then wham!.. Nothing, nada, zip.

[pacman]

Thanks Lung, you can't make this stuff up. And what better qualification can an army captain have than a gold medal? That'll make the enemy sit up & take notice.

I am in favour of shooting noisy house guests though, it would make dinner parties much more enjoyable. Anyone making a racket... BANG... instant peace.

"Now what were you saying before we were so rudely interrupted?"

Imagine if all gold medalists had that authority? Amazing Thailand.

[deepthroat]

Watching things degenerate and the rampant corruption here in the USA I'd say we aren't that far different from LOS in some respects. Money is power, none more so than in our new political system where corporations are considered to be people and denying corporate donors the ability to "buy" politicians has been judged to be a restriction on "free speech".

Sorry, I'm in a shitty mood. Seahawks lost the season opener.

[mardhi]

In today's Nation newspaper:-

BANGKOK: -- The family of Pol Snr Sgt-Major Wichien Klanprasert, who was run over by Red Bull heir Worrayuth Yoovidhya's Ferrari last month, have agreed to an out-of-court settlement of Bt3 million, police said.

Thong Lor investigator Pol Lt-Colonel Wiradol Taptimdee said police investigators were still waiting for detailed results after an initial blood test showed that Worrayuth might have consumed a narcotic substance. They are also waiting for forensic results on the car and the speed at which it was going when it hit the policeman's motorbike. Wiradol said the results should be revealed soon and the case should be concluded by the end of this month.

3m baht sounds cheap to me - I am sure its not the sum of the total layout to make this go away.

[Vee]

Thank you Mardhi for the update. I was curious to see how this situation would develop.

[pdogg]

Thong Lor investigator Pol Lt-Colonel Wiradol Taptimdee said police investigators were still waiting for detailed results after an initial blood test showed that Worrayuth might have consumed a narcotic substance.

The Nation reports today:

Red Bull heir did 'coke' before accident

http://www.nationmul...t-30192708.html

[pacman]

I tried snorting coke once...

but all the bubbles went up my nose...