Former Thai prosecutors sentenced to prison for alleged cover-up of Red Bull heir's deadly crash
Former Deputy Attorney General Nate Naksuk and former prosecutor Chainarong Sangthongaram were sentenced to three and two years, respectively, for abuse of power to help an individual avoid prosecution, said the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases in Bangkok.
They were among eight people charged with conspiring to alter the recorded speed of the Ferrari driven by Vorayuth 'Boss' Yoovidhya to help him evade a speeding charge. The rest, including former Police Chief Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung, were acquitted due to a lack of evidence linking them to the cover-up, the court said on Tuesday.
However, the court ordered all eight to be detained pending an appeal, according to the court statement, which didn't provide further details. They were later released on bail, local media reported.
Vorayuth escaped justice by fleeing abroad in a case widely viewed as an example of how the rich and well-connected enjoy impunity in Thailand.
He is the grandson of the late Chaleo Yoovidhya, one of the creators of the globally famous Red Bull brand. Forbes magazine last year listed the Yoovidhya family as Thailand's richest with an estimated net worth of $36 billion.
Police have said Vorayuth smashed his Ferrari into the back of a police officer's motorbike around dawn on a major Bangkok road in September 2012. The officer was flung from the bike and died at the scene. Vorayuth drove home and was later arrested. Medical tests showed traces of alcohol and cocaine in his bloodstream, according to police.
Vorayuth avoided further legal action by consistently failing to meet with prosecutors, while continuing for years to live a jet-set life. By the time prosecutors finally issued an arrest warrant in April 2017, Vorayuth had fled abroad.
His case has been marked by numerous delays in the investigative and judicial processes, running down the clock on most of the charges involving the hit-and-run death of the officer. There is a single charge left of reckless driving causing death, which expires under the statute of limitations in 2027.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Woman at centre of Christian Horner scandal leaves Red Bull for a new role in motorsport
The woman at the centre of the scandal that almost brought down Christian Horner last year has left Red Bull and now has a new role in motorsport. The 'female employee', as she was usually referred to in media reports, made accusations of inappropriate and coercive behaviour of a sexual nature against then Red Bull team principal Horner. She has not been named by Mail Sport for legal reasons, and her identity remains a secret from the public. Horner, husband of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, was cleared of misconduct by two separate investigations led by KCs. Earlier this month, the 51-year-old executive effectively left Red Bull after 20 years in charge, during which time he led them to 14 world titles. He was not given an explanation for being 'released from operational duties' three weeks ago on Tuesday. A severance package worth up to £60million to settle his contract has yet to be agreed. Despite having her claims rejected, the woman remained on Red Bull's payroll for many months afterwards, suspended on full pay, though that arrangement is believed to have stopped some time ago. It has now emerged that she has taken up a new position. The paddock was electrified in Bahrain last March when an anonymous email, containing a slew of racy text messages purporting to be between Horner and the employee, was sent to F1's leading figures and media. Horner was absent from the F1 paddock at the Belgian Grand Prix for the first time since 2004, instead watching avidly from home as Oscar Piastri won, with Red Bull's defending champion Max Verstappen fourth.
Leader Live
2 days ago
- Leader Live
Gunman ‘with grudge' kills five at Bangkok market
The victims included four security guards at the Or Tor Kor market in northern Bangkok, according to a police statement. It said a vendor there was also killed, and that two others were wounded. The market is next to the sprawling Chatuchak weekend market, which is popular with Thai and foreign tourists. A statement by Bangkok's Metropolitan Police Commissioner issued several hours after the shooting said the gunman's wife told them that he had held a grudge against the security guards related to his car being scratched in 2019 or 2020. The wife has a food stall at the market, the statement said. 'Mr Noi is a person who loves and is very protective of his car, and is also a violent person,' said the statement, identifying the suspect only by a nickname. It said the gunman walked away after the shooting and shot himself with a handgun on a bench. He had been wearing a black T-shirt, military-pattern shorts, a baseball cap and a backpack. The statement stressed that the incident involved a personal conflict and was not linked to the border fighting with neighbouring Cambodia, as had been rumoured on social media. Gun violence is not unusual in Thailand, which has fairly restrictive laws but also a high level of gun ownership. The last mass shooting in Bangkok was in October 2023 when a teenage boy shot more than half a dozen people at the Paragon shopping centre with a modified blank pistol in the city's main shopping district, killing three people. One of the country's worst mass killings occurred in October 2022 in the north-eastern province of Nong Bua Lamphua, when a police sergeant who had lost his job used guns and knives to kill 36 people, including two dozen toddlers at a day care centre. In February 2020, a disgruntled Thai army soldier shot and killed 29 people, most at a shopping centre in the north-eastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, before he was killed by police after an 18-hour stand-off.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Woman at centre of scandal that almost brought down former Red Bull chief Christian Horner last year has a new role in motorsport
The woman at the centre of the scandal that almost brought down Christian Horner last year has left Red Bull and now has a new role in motorsport. The 'female employee', as she was usually referred to in media reports, made accusations of inappropriate and coercive behaviour of a sexual nature against then Red Bull team principal Horner. She has not been named by Mail Sport for legal reasons, and her identity remains a secret from the public. Horner, husband of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, was cleared of misconduct by two separate investigations led by KCs. Earlier this month, the 51-year-old executive effectively left Red Bull after 20 years in charge, during which time he led them to 14 world titles. He was not given an explanation for being 'released from operational duties' three weeks ago on Tuesday. A severance package worth up to £60million to settle his contract has yet to be agreed. Despite having her claims rejected, the woman remained on Red Bull's payroll for many months afterwards, suspended on full pay, though that arrangement is believed to have stopped some time ago. It has now emerged that she has taken up a new position. The paddock was electrified in Bahrain last March when an anonymous email, containing a slew of racy text messages purporting to be between Horner and the employee, was sent to F1's leading figures and media. Horner was absent from the F1 paddock at the Belgian Grand Prix for the first time since 2004, instead watching avidly from home as Oscar Piastri won, with Red Bull's defending champion Max Verstappen fourth.
