BANGKOK—A witness whose testimony was crucial in having hit-and-run charges dropped against a heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune has died in a traffic accident, announced Thursday the police in Thailand.
The accident took place late Wednesday night in the northern province of Chiang Mai, just days after police made the unexpected announcement that the last remaining criminal charge against Vorayuth Yoovidhya, whose family owns about half of the Red Bull empire and is among the richest people in Thailand, had been dropped.
Die Ankündigung verursachte Wut, und obwohl es keine Hinweise darauf gibt, dass die Todesursache des Zeugen verdächtig war, wird es sicherlich die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Angelegenheit erhöhen.
Vorayuth, besser bekannt als „Boss“, wurde wegen eines Unfalls am 3. September 2012 verhaftet, bei dem sein Ferrari einen Motorradpolizisten Sgt. Maj. Wichean Klunprasert tötete.
Der 40-jährige Zeuge Jaruchart Mardthong verstarb in einem Zusammenstoß mit einem anderen Motorrad, wie von Polizeisprecher Maj. Krissana Pattanacharoen am Thursday bestätigt wurde.
He was one of two witnesses who came out years after the Ferrari crash to say that Vorayuth did not exceed the speed limit and that the policeman appeared to be at fault for swerving in front of his car.
In Übereinstimmung mit den ursprünglichen forensischen Feststellungen der Polizei, die besagten, dass Vorayuth möglicherweise mit einer Geschwindigkeit von 177 km/h (110 mph) gefahren war, gaben mehrere Expertenzeugen Auskunft, dass ihre Inspektionen ebenfalls feststellten, dass Vorayuth die Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung nicht überschritten hatte.
When the police announced on Friday that the attorney general’s office had dropped the final charge that led to the death by reckless driving, they only said that it was done according to standard procedure and that there was no favouritism or double standards involved.
However, a document that was leaked to Thai media on Sunday cited two witnesses who said they had seen Vorayuth’s Ferrari safely travel within the 80 km/h speed limit, and the motorcycle patrolman had recklessly cut in front of him.
Many have seen the lifting of the last charge as confirmation that the rich and well-connected people in Thailand have impunity from the law.
Laut Busaba Sivasomboon von der Associated Press
