Trial in Thailand

Indictment against police officer in Red Bull heir case

Yorayuth Yoovidhya is accused of running over a patrolman in Bangkok in 2012.

(Bild: EPA/STR, krone.at-Grafik)

Almost twelve years after the killing of a police officer by the grandson of Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, the Thai public prosecutor's office has filed charges against a former police chief. Police officers are alleged to have covered up evidence and altered important information.

Police officers are alleged to have been involved in the falsification of evidence in a juicy case in Thailand - and thus contributed to the accused never being brought to justice. As a court responsible for corruption and abuse of office proceedings announced on Thursday, the public prosecutor's office has charged Somyot Poompanmoung and seven co-defendants with "abuse of office".

Patrolman run over with Ferrari
It's all about him: the Red Bull heir known as "Boss" Vorayuth Yoovidhya is accused of running over a patrolman on a motorcycle with his Ferrari in Bangkok in 2012 and dragging his body for another hundred meters.

Chalerm Yoovidhya at the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi in 2018.

(Bild: James Moy / PA / picturedesk.com)

Up to ten years in prison - heir flees
It was not until 2017 that the Thai judiciary issued an arrest warrant against Voravuth under public pressure. The Red Bull heir then left the country on his private jet - thus evading prosecution. The charges against him were dropped in 2020. Several of the offenses on which the charges were based were now time-barred. However, the most serious charge - reckless driving causing death - could have been punished until 2027. The Red Bull heir was facing up to ten years in prison for this.

The Thai judiciary is now attempting to prosecute at least some of the police officers who altered the police report at the time, making prosecution more difficult. According to the court, the speed of Vorayuth's Ferrari was initially stated as 177 km/h in the police report, but was later changed to just under 80 km/h. The eight defendants are not allowed to leave the country for the time being and must appear in court for the first time on September 10.

Thailand's richest family
The case is being followed with great interest by the public in Thailand. For many people, it has become a symbol of the two-tier criminal system in the kingdom, which largely spares rich and influential people.

Vorayuth's grandfather founded Red Bull together with the Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz in the 1980s. When he died in 2012, Chaleo Yoovidhya left the family an estimated fortune of 36 billion dollars (just over 32 billion euros), making them the richest family in Thailand according to the US magazine Forbes. Son Chalerm now holds the reins of the Thai bull empire.