Red Bull heir lives it up after hit-and-run
Vorayuth due to meet prosecutors tomorrow
The Ferrari driver who allegedly slammed into a motorcycle cop, dragged him along the road and then sped away from the mangled body took just hours to find, as investigators followed a trail of brake fluid into the gated estate of one of Thailand’s richest families.
But the prosecution of Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya has been delayed for almost five years.
Mr Vorayuth, 31, has been repeatedly summoned to face authorities but he avoided it each time, claiming through his lawyer that he was sick or out of the country on business. And while the statute of limitations runs out on key charges this year, it has been widely assumed he’s been in hiding, possibly abroad, or quietly living locally, only going out in disguise.
Mr Vorayuth is accused of being responsible for a hit-and-run on Sept 3, 2012, in which Pol Sen Sgt Maj Wichean Glanprasert, chief of a patrol unit at Thong Lor police station, was killed.
Pornanan Glanprasert, Pol Sen Sgt Maj Wichean’s older brother, said Mr Vorayuth’s lawyer offered to compensate for the death of his brother after the incident.
Mr Pornanan said his family members initially requested eight million baht in compensation, but settled at three million baht. He said the offer stipulated they would not pursue a lawsuit against Mr Vorayuth, adding his family has held up their end of the deal.
However, criminal charges were brought against Mr Vorayuth by police, Mr Pornanan said. He told the Bangkok Post his family still wants justice to be served in this case.
Within weeks of the accident, the Associated Press found, Mr Vorayuth was back to enjoying his family’s jet-set life, largely associated with the Red Bull brand, an energy drink company co-founded by his grandfather. He flies around the world on Red Bull jets, cheers their Formula One racing team from Red Bull’s VIP seats and keeps a black Porsche Carrera in London with a custom plate: B055 RBR. Boss Red Bull Racing.
Last month, social media clues led AP reporters to Mr Vorayuth in the sacred city of Luang Prabang, Laos, where he and his family enjoyed a US$1,000-a-night (34,400 baht) resort, visited temples and lounged by the pool.
Critics say inaction in this case epitomises longstanding privilege for the wealthy class in this politically tumultuous country that has struggled with rule of law for decades.
The Yoovidhya family lawyer did not respond to AP’s request to interview Mr Vorayuth. Police say Mr Vorayuth is once again on notice to show up and hear the charges. He is due at the prosecutors’ office tomorrow.
While Mr Vorayuth’s case has been on hold since 2012, his carefree lifestyle has not.
More than 120 social media posts show Mr Vorayuth visiting at least nine countries since Pol Sen Sgt Maj Wichean’s death. He’s cruised Monaco’s harbour, snowboarded Japan’s powder, and celebrated his birthday at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London. At the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Osaka, he posed wearing robes from Hogwarts School’s darkest dorm, Slytherin House.
Friends and cousins posting about him have hundreds of thousands of online followers.
As I was preparing to leave home yesterday morning to meet a group of poor and landless people at a forum and hear their stories of injustice, the Associated Press was reporting a story on the Red Bull heir, who hit a policeman with his car. The headline was “‘Red Bull killer’ found living the good life”.
Was I surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes. Worried? Very much.
The news failed to surprise me because it is just another example of how impunity is afforded to the rich who are allowed to live the “good life” despite falling foul of the law.
Remember Janepob Veeraporn, a car dealer who this time last year smashed his black Mercedes-Benz through a tollway gate, tore along a highway and rammed into the back of a Ford Fiesta, killing two young graduates?
How about the teen girl, Orachorn “Praewa” Thephasadin na Ayudhya, who crashed into a van on the tollway killing nine people; she was given a suspended two-year jail term and ordered to do community service?
To many of us, it’s normal to see the Red Bull heir, Vorayudh Yoovidhya, continue life as usual.
Mr Vorayudh, an heir of business tycoon Chalerm Yoovidhya, ranked by Forbes as Thailand’s fourth richest person in 2015, is living a healthy, happy life both at home and abroad despite failing to show up to police and public prosecutor hearings over charges of speeding, reckless driving and other offences.
Being busy and being sick were the reasons his lawyer rattled off to authorities to account for Mr Vorayudh’s absence.
This story makes me sad because it serves as a reminder of all the fresh cases of injustice involving poor and ordinary people.
Imagine if you were a street vendor and crashed into someone on your motorcycle, killing them; and then told police you were sick and would like to postpone a hearing on your criminal charges.
Not a chance. You would be locked up from day one.
For the rich, excuses of “being busy or having the flu” are only too readily accepted by police and public prosecutors. Mr Vorayudh faces charges of speeding, hit-and-run and reckless driving, but police let the speeding charge expire in 2013. The reckless driving charge is due to expire this September.
For the poor, being arrested for theft or assault will surely be met with lengthy jail terms. Most of the time these people can’t even afford bail or a lawyer. Worse still, they can be wrongfully jailed for crimes they did not commit, thanks to a flawed system.
Yesterday, after reading the news about the Red Bull heir, I was listening to a group of landless people and ethnic minorities at a forum at Chulalongkorn University about “land officials’ unlawful issuance of land title deeds for rich people” to give them ownership over land that poor farmers had lived on and made a living from for generations.
An ethnic man from the North said injustices against minorities like him and his fellows are normal. The extra-judicial killing of Lahu activist Chaiyapoom Pasae, who has been accused by the military of being an illicit drug dealer, is nothing new in his neighbourhood. Such incidents have happened many times before in the highlands, he said, insisting Chaiyapoom had been well known as a man who discouraged drug use among young people.
It is not new for us to hear that a different version of the justice system is served out to the poor, the outcasts and ordinary people.
For example, while it took less than two years for police to wrap up a complicated and doubtful murder case on Koh Tao, which resulted in death sentences for two migrant workers from Myanmar, police and prosecutors, amid an intense media spotlight and public scepticism, have failed to press charges against the Red Bull heir after four years.
It’s disappointing that the AP story gives the impression to the wealthy and privileged classes that impunity is still the name of the game when it comes to the law.
Every time we take our cars on the roads, we shouldn’t have to pray for our safety. We should pray for a justice system that treats everyone equally and holds everyone accountable.
Pray for a justice system that treats everyone equally and holds everyone accountable.