Thailand: policeman accused of helping a Red Bull scion

An incident dating back to 2012 is being investigated

Thai prosecutors announced the day before yesterday that they intended to indict a former national police chief on charges of obstructing legal action against Vorayuth Yoovidhya, grandson of Chalerm Yoovidhya, a founder of the energy drink brand Red Bull. The news is reported by the online edition of Washington Post. The Yoovidhya scion is accused of killing a police officer in an incident dating back to 2012.

According to the charges, the agent Somyot Poompanmoung – head of the national police from 2014 to 2015 – and other colleagues allegedly helped Vorayuth Yoovidhya flee abroad to escape justice. Already in 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Commission had accused Somyot Poompanmoung of tampering with evidence by altering the speed at which Vorayuth Voovidhya's car was traveling at the time of the impact.

There will be seven people in total accused of abuse of power and tampering with evidence: police officers, a lawyer, an engineering specialist and a former deputy attorney general. Vorayuth Voovidhya was behind the wheel of a Ferrari that hit a traffic policeman's motorcycle on a main road in Bangkok. The officer, Wichean Glunprasert, was thrown from the motorcycle and died at the scene. The car drove away, but police followed a trail of oil and brake fluid to the family's luxury compound Yoovidhya. Wichean's family told Thai media they had received compensation of 3 million baht ($83,000) from the Yoovidhya family in exchange for waiving further legal action. For years Vorayuth avoided court by failing to show up for meetings with prosecutors while traveling the world on private Red Bull jets. Only after his lifestyle was revealed by an investigation by theAssociated Press Thai police issued an arrest warrant in 2017.

Vorayuth Voodidhya left Thailand three days before the arrest warrant was issued and Since then his traces have been lost. Almost all the charges against him have been barred. The last remaining one – causing a homicide by reckless driving – will expire in 2027.