Investigators deciding whether or not to pursue “Boss” charges

Officials at the Department of Special Investigation are considering whether to go after Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya on charges of reckless driving causing death and cocaine abuse.

“The Department of Special Investigation is a department of the Ministry of Justice of Thailand. It operates independently of the Royal Thai Police and is tasked with the investigation of certain ‘special cases’. The DSI is often referred to as Thailand’s counterpart to the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation.” – Wikipedia

Boss is accused of killing a 47 year old Bangkok policeman in the Thong Lor area in 2012, by hitting him with his speeding silver Ferrari and dragging both the officer and his motorbike over 100 metres, before fleeing the scene.

DSI chief Korrawat Panpraphakorn says that as the case is not automatically considered a “special case”, investigators need to decide whether to take it on. He says the DSI is due to discuss the matter today, in light of new findings concerning the incident itself and those involved in the aftermath. A list of police officers, investigators and officials have been named as being complicit in a ‘cover up’ or turning a blind eye to aspects of the case in a recent government inquiry ordered by the Thai PM.

After a decision in July to drop all charges against Boss, the ensuing public outrage prompted PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to call for an independent inquiry into the handling of the case. The inquiry committee, chaired by the highly regarded former National Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Vicha Mahakun, has now presented its report to the PM, and the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission has provided the DSI with a copy. Only limited sections of the report have been released to the public at this stage.

The report recommends the reinstatement of the reckless driving charge against Boss, in addition to a new charge of cocaine use, which was not levied in the original case. The committee says drug tests on Boss following the hit and run incident proved he had been using cocaine.

It has now been over 8 years since the incident dragged the high profile Yoovidhya family name into disrepute. Chaleo Yoovidhya is the grandfather of Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya and was one of the 2 co-founders of the Red Bull empire and the TCP Thailand brands. The entire board is made up of the Yoovidhya family. They own the brands Ready and Warrior energy drinks, Sponsor electrolyte beverages, Mansome drinks and sodas, Puriku tea, Hi Vitamin C drinks, and Sunsnack sunflower seeds.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post