KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — Thai prosecutors said they will charge a former national police chief Thursday over a fatal hit-and-run incident involving the heir of the country’s Red Bull business empire.
According to the Bangkok Post, a spokesman from the Office of the Attorney-General said the former official is among eight people who have been summoned ahead of their prosecution at the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases.
The spokesman said Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission had recommended the charges against ex-police chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmoung and former deputy attorney-general Nate Naksuk over the alleged mishandling of the case.
The commission alleged that the former officials conspired to alter the speed at which Vorayuth Yoovidhya — the son of Red Bull energy drink tycoon Chalerm Yoovidhya — had driven his Ferrari sports car prior to the crash in 2012.
In the incident, Vorayuth hit and killed a police officer, after which he fled the country.
Although several of the charges against him eventually expired due to passing the statute of limitations, he has remained a fugitive since.
However, he still faces a charge of causing a death through reckless driving, which will expire after 2027.
