Even if Boss is arrested, what happens next?
When I was reading law at Chulalongkorn University about four decades ago, there was an old saying among jurists that went along the lines of, “When gunshots ring out, all the jurists just sit down and keep their mouths shut.”
The meaning is the use of force can silence or tame law enforcement officers, be they police, prosecutors or judges.
That was yesterday. But it is different today. There is a more subtle way of silencing jurists. Let the money do the talking — the deeper the pocket, the louder the voice.
If you have a mountain of money, say 300 billion baht, you can call a cat a dog and everyone will agree.
I couldn’t agree more with former Rak Prathet Thai party MP Chuvit Kamolvisit who said on the TV show Tee Saek Na (Hit Right in the Face) last week that prisons will always incarcerate the poor while the super-rich who are implicated in a crime are allowed to get off scot free; he was referring to the hit-and-run case involving Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya, alias “Boss”.
Counting himself a rich man with a net worth of more than a billion baht, Mr Chuvit himself has been to prison for several months over the forced demolition of beer bars on Sukhumvit Road several years back.
The former massage parlor tycoon cried foul at the justice system’s double standards: one set of rules for the superrich and another for the rest of us.
The hit-and-run case has dragged on for almost five years and public prosecutors are still unable to indict the suspect, the Red Bull heir.
Mr Chuvit, who is now a talk-show host, questioned whether the Office of the Attorney-General would accord a similar privilege to the rest of us — allowing a case to go for almost five years without a glimmer of hope the suspect will be indicted.
From the start, the handling of the hit-and-run case smelled fishy and indicated an attempt to help the suspect when then Thong Lor police inspector, Pol Lt-Col Panapon Nammuang, escorted a housekeeper of the Yoovidhya family, Suwet Hom-ubon, to Thong Lor police station, claiming he was the driver of the Ferrari which crushed to death a traffic policeman, Pol Snr Sgt Maj Wichian Klanprasert.
According to several witnesses, Wichian’s body and motorcycle were dragged for more than 100 metres by the Ferrari before they separated from the luxury car, which then disappeared into the Yoovidhya family’s mansion in Soi Thong Lor. Mr Suwet was later charged with giving a false statement to the police, and Pol Lt-Col Panapon transferred to Metropolitan Police Bureau for 30 days.
If our memory serves us correctly, we should be able to recall how then metropolitan police commissioner, Pol Lt-Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang, reacted to the fatal road accident.
He angrily announced that he would not bow to pressure “no matter how big they are” and the culprit “must be brought to justice”.
The police officer’s tough talk was later proven to ring hollow as the police in charge of the case dragged their feet, allowing one of the charges — speeding — to be dropped due to the expiry of the statute of limitations.
The charge of driving under the influence of alcohol was also dropped even though the suspect’s blood alcohol level was over the limit; the suspect’s lawyer claimed Boss had been drinking after the accident, not before it.
And police dared not challenge the lawyer’s claims as the booze test was conducted several hours after the accident.
Boss now faces two charges, namely reckless driving causing death and not helping the victim. The statute of limitations on the first charge will expire in 10 years and for the second charge, it will expire in September.
If the police’s handling of the case wasn’t bad enough, public prosecutors have fared even worse.
At a press conference last Friday, OAG deputy spokesman Prayuth Phetkhun defended prosecutors, saying they have not procrastinated to help the suspect, but have been delayed by the suspect’s petitioning.
Boss has repeatedly offered the National Legislative Assembly’s justice and police affairs panel excuses to avoid showing up to acknowledge the charges against him.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said prosecutors should not ignore the suspect’s petitions and excuses as they must show fairness in dealing with his case.
He also claimed prosecutors have followed the letter of the law in their
handling of the case.
In all, five summonses have been issued by prosecutors ordering Boss to show up to formally acknowledge the charges.
All were spurned with excuses from the lawyer that the suspect was busy tending to his business abroad or was sick.
But in reality, according to Associated Press reports, the Red Bull heir has been globe-trotting in Red Bull’s private jet and yacht, watching Formula One races in VIP rooms and celebrating a birthday at a five-star Michelin restaurant in London.
I don’t want to argue with Mr Prayut’s claim that prosecutors have been handling the case within the scope of the law and they have done nothing wrong.
I don’t want to blame the suspect’s lawyer either because his job is to protect
and defend his client.
And he has done a good job. What I would like to challenge is the way prosecutors have exercised their discretion in their handling of the case which has given the impression they are extraordinarily generous with the Red Bull heir.
I wonder whether they will accord similar generosity to other hit-and-run suspects?
For almost five years, the prosecutors have allowed the suspect to enjoy a jet-set lifestyle and to post his images on social media completely devoid of any sense of guilt.
Mr Prayut hinted that if the suspect does not turn himself in by April 27, a warrant will be issued for his arrest.
Then what? The ball will be back in the police’s court.
Will the police make the arrest? I wonder.
Why don’t prosecutors and the police announce publicly and candidly they are helpless in bringing the Red Bull heir to face justice, so we can just let go of the case and accept it as a fait accompli that prisons in this country are not meant for the super-rich who will always escape scot free as Mr Chuvit said.
For almost five years, prosecutors have allowed the suspect to enjoy a jet-set lifestyle ...