The indictment against eight defendants has been approved by the Criminal Court for corruption and misconduct cases. The defendants are accused of using their authority to cover up the case by changing the stated speed of the automobile driven by a Red Bull scion, which resulted in a deadly collision involving a police officer.
The court has granted provisional freedom to all eight defendants, but on the condition that they are not permitted to leave the country; this is the condition.
Using the Special Prosecutor for Anti-Corruption Cases 1, the Attorney General filed a complaint on August 29 against Police General Somyot Poompanmoung and seven other defendants in a corruption case. The lawsuit accused the defendants of engaging in corrupt activities.
This case is a result of an event that took place at around 5:20 a.m. on September 3, 2012, when Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya smashed his Ferrari into the rear of a motorbike operated by Pol. Sgt. Maj. Wichian Klanprasert, resulting in the death of the officer who was standing at the entrance of Soi Sukhumvit 49.
After then, officers from the Thonglor Police Station carried out an investigation and gathered evidence that was connected to the traffic case. This evidence included a report from the Central Forensic Science Division. According to this assessment, which utilized CCTV video and actual distance measurements to conduct an analysis of the vehicle driven by Vorayuth, the average speed was determined to be 177 kilometers per hour, with a potential margin of error of 17 kilometers per hour.
Investigators subsequently transferred the case to prosecutors at the Southern Bangkok Criminal Case Office, where they made a recommendation that Vorayuth be prosecuted for reckless driving, causing death and property damage, and failing to stop en route to offer help and report the accident.
Vorayuth was charged with reckless driving that resulted in damage to the property of others and death on May 2, 2013, as well as driving over the legal speed limit and causing damage to both persons and property without stopping to provide reasonable assistance. These charges were decided upon by the Director-General of the Southern Bangkok Criminal Case Office. The accusation of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and causing death was not brought against Vorayuth.
After some time had passed, the Deputy Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police, who had been nominated by the Commissioner General, examined the case and did not raise any objections to the decision that Vorayuth would not be charged with driving under the influence of alcohol that resulted in death. The conclusion that there was no need to pursue charges was thus conclusive.
During this time, the statute of limitations for the remaining offense of reckless driving that resulted in death had already run its course.
As a consequence of this, the eighth defendant, who was an authorized prosecutor, issued an order that prohibited the prosecution of Vorayuth for reckless driving that resulted in death. Furthermore, the Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police, through the Deputy Commissioner General, did not appeal the decision of the prosecutor, which resulted in the order of non-prosecution becoming final.
As planned, all eight defendants conspired to change the speed of the car driven by Vorayuth at the time of the accident from 177 kilometers per hour to 80 kilometers per hour. This was done despite the fact that this represented a significant departure from the truth and willful misconduct. The conspiracy took place between February 29, 2016, and June 13, 2020.
After conducting an investigation into the activities of the eight defendants, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) came to the conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to justify the filing of criminal charges. The study, materials, and suggestions associated with it were sent to the Attorney General in order to initiate legal proceedings. Consequently, the Attorney General began legal actions against the eight individuals who were accused of the crime.
Following an examination of the complaint filed by the prosecutor and the evidence that was submitted, which consisted of nine boxes and thirty files, the court accepted the complaint and called for a preliminary hearing to take place on September 10, 2024, at 9:30 in the morning.
A bail request in the sum of 200,000 baht was submitted by each of the eight accused during this interim period. The court granted them interim freedom with the stipulation that they are not permitted to leave the country until they are granted permission to do so by the court.