OAG under pressure to break silence
VORAYUTH ACQUITTAL FALL-OUT GROWS
>>Pressure on the Office of AttorneyGeneral (OAG) is mounting as many groups, including constitutional bodies, demand an explanation for its decision to drop all charges against Red Bull scion Vorayuth Yoovidhya.
While the OAG remains silent, a lawyer who claimed he saw the document detailing the prosecutors’ reasons said the decision was a result of the testimony of two witnesses who said the killed policeman abruptly changed lane on his motorcycle, thereby causing the fatal hit-and-run incident in 2012.
This week, news broke that the OAG had in June dropped a reckless driving causing death charge against Mr Vorayuth, who had fled the country, despite the statute of limitations for the charge not expiring until 2027.
Thammasat University vice-rector and law lecturer Prinya Thaewanarumitkul yesterday stressed that both the OAG and the police owe the public an explanation.
“Don’t let the case confirm public suspicions that the justice administration system can be rigged. The police also owe the public an explanation as to why they did not challenge the decision,” he said.
Democrat deputy leader Nipit Intarasombat posted on Facebook that the controversy could snowball and ultimately undermine the government itself.
“This matter is very serious and the prime minister, the attorney-general and the chief of police will have to address the public. Even though it doesn’t directly involve the premier, he can’t sit idly by,” he said.
With public anger escalating, at least three bodies have signalled their intention to take action over the matter.
Activist lawyer Songkan Atchariyasap said he will bring the matter before the national reform committee on police affairs, of which he is a member, next week. Two former attorneys-general, Khemchai Chutiwong and Trakul Winitchaiphak, serve on the panel.
Rewat Wisarutvej, a list-MP of the Seriruamthai Party and a member of the House panel on justice administration affairs, said the panel will look into the case and summon the attorney-general to clarify the matter.
“The case is telling the people there are double standards in the system,” he said.
And Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, chief of the House antigraft committee said if someone filed a complaint, his committee would also look into the matter.
Meanwhile, Attorney-General Wongsakul Kittipromwong has distanced himself from the furore.
Prayuth Petchkhun, deputy spokesman of the OAG, said Mr Wongsakul, who is upcountry for an inspection trip and will not return until next week had only learned of the decision himself from media coverage.
According to Mr Prayuth, the attorney-general will not comment until he has examined the details.
Mr Prayuth said that for cases in Bangkok if the decision to drop the charges is not made by the attorneygeneral, the case must be forwarded to the national police for consideration. If the police chief agrees with the decision, the case is finalised.
Decha Kittivittayanan, founder of the Tanai Klai Took (Lawyers Relieve Suffering) Facebook page, said he had seen a document showing the reasons behind the prosecution’s decision to drop the charges against Mr Vorayuth who is accused of being behind the wheel when his Ferrari hit and killed Pol Sgt Maj Wichian Klanprasert, a motorcycle policeman, on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, on Sept 3, 2012.
He said two more witnesses had been identified from security camera footage. Both of them said they were driving behind Mr Vorayuth who was driving under the 60 km/h limit in the third lane, while the police officer, who was in the left lane, suddenly cut in front of his Ferrari.
Previously, forensic police had concluded that Mr Vorayuth had been driving at 177 km/h.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission in June revealed that it found there had been an intention by police to exempt Mr Vorayuth, now aged 35, from prosecution on charges of drug abuse and speeding despite the forensic result and a blood test.
In December 2010, 16-year-old Praewa, who didn’t have a licence, crashed her Honda Civic into a passenger van on a Bangkok expressway, killing nine. She belongs to a prominent family. Her punishment? A two-year suspended sentence. Two years later in 2012, it was the turn of Red Bull scion Vorayuth ‘Boss’ Yoovidhya who became involved in a fatal hit-and-run. Around 5.30am on Sept 3, 2012, Mr Vorayuth rammed his black Ferrari into Pol Sgt Maj Wichian Klanprasert, an on-duty policeman, dragging his body for 200 metres before fleeing the scene.
Ironically, it was an oil trail that led cops to the hideout of a member of one of Thailand’s richest families. At the home, Mr Vorayuth’s blood alcohol content measured 64.8mg per 100ml — 40% above the legal limit — which he explained away by jittery nerves which had forced him to take to the bottle “to relieve his stress” after arriving home that morning.
When that failed to shake off the law, the family driver, Suwes Homuban was brought forth to take the fall. However, he was later charged with giving false statements. And the rest became history.
The punishment for such negligence on Mr Vorayuth’s part? Apparently none, besides perhaps loss of face, 3 million baht paid in “blood money” to the slain officer’s family, and any potentially (but likely) behind-the-scenes greasing of palms.
On Friday, the Royal Thai Police confirmed the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has dropped all charges — reckless driving causing death, reckless driving causing damage, failing to help a crash victim — against Mr Vorayuth, with all arrest warrants cancelled, and that the wealthy man could return to Thailand.
Before that, the RTP had been in hot water for allowing a few charges against the rich heir to expire. Now it’s the turn of the OAG which remains tightlipped over how and why it let Mr Vorayuth off the hook as public anger simmers.
The wealthy have always assumed that they can break the law with impunity no matter the crime.
Mr Vorayuth’s great escape from justice is sure to touch a raw nerve. This isn’t the first instance where justice has failed to prevail over “deadly rich kids” or young people of privilege who are able to evade justice by way of net worth, network, and/or connections.
And there’s no denying the two sides of the Thai criminal system — one for the elites and one for everyone else.
The wealthy have always assumed they can break the law with impunity no matter how severe the crime. And what society has witnessed many times over seems to confirm that.
The dead policeman’s brother, Pornanan Klanprasert, told the media that the family had accepted a payout. It appears that in Thailand, as he said, “the criminal justice system runs on double standards, one for people who face their crimes and one for the elites who don’t have to pay the price”, at least in terms of time behind bars. Who can blame him for accepting some compensation at least?
After fleeing the country just two days before he was due to answer charges on April 27, 2017, authorities maintained they were unable to track Mr Vorayuth’s whereabouts.
Of course, you have to read between the lines here. Mr Vorayuth was no international man of mystery but instead, he was hiding in plain sight. A quick glance at his social media profiles would have revealed his extravagant lifestyle which allowed him to travel between London, Japan, and even Bangkok.
Clearly, there was a lack of willpower to pursue prosecution.
As the nation begins to digest the news, trust in public institutions and justice will surely sink to an all-time low. To avoid stirring unrest — which is unhealthy for any country — especially amid these trying times, it’s time to stop avoiding the elephant in the room and have a debate on how to prevent such incidents from repeating.
The main question that needs to be asked is — how to deliver equality before the law?
As the saga had captured national and even international headlines. it is a reminder that the country is in dire need of an overhaul of its justice system. A state promise of long-overdue reform is empty as public trust in the system has tremendously eroded.
It’s hard to imagine how Wichian’s family must have felt during this ordeal but at least we should not let their loss be in vain. As global protests over race the past weeks have shown, allowing wrong to prevail time and time again can have deadly consequences.