Prayut ‘not okay’ with Boss case fiasco
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that he was “not okay” with the handling of the hit-andrun case of Red Bull scion Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya as many aspects of it were unclear.
Addressing the “Bangkok Post Forum 2020” at Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao, Gen Prayut said the case had drawn public attention, challenged the systems of justice and laws and affected public faith in the whole government sector.
“I would like to express my standpoint in the Boss Red Bull case, that I am not okay with many aspects that remain unclear. I want transparency.
I will push for it and I will follow it up closely,” Gen Prayut said.
The prime minister said he would only act after the committee he formed to handle the case had reached its conclusion, adding: “I do not want anything that erodes confidence.”
The prime minister’s comments came after the Immigration Bureau admitted yesterday that Mr Vorayuth can now return to Thailand because travel curbs previously imposed on him have now been lifted.
The panel was set up after prosecutors and the police agreed not to arraign Mr Vorayuth on a charge of reckless driving causing the death of a policeman in 2012.
Widespread criticism of the decision prompted the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) to form a committee to look into it and it recommended a re-investigation.
Mr Vorayuth, now 35, crashed his black Ferrari into the rear of the motorcycle ridden by Pol Snr Sgt Maj Wichian Klanprasert, 47, early on Sept 3, 2012, on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok.
He then fled the scene to his home nearby and then delayed hearing the charges seven times. It was not until April 27, 2017, that prosecutors finally charged him with reckless driving causing death and failing to help a crash victim.
He fled on a private plane two days before he was due to face the charges.
A speeding charge was later dropped when the one-year statute of limitation expired and a second charge, failing to stop and help a crash victim, expired on Sept 3, 2017.
The third and most serious charge, reckless driving causing death, would have remained on the books until 2027.