Ex-top prosecutor jailed 3 years in Red Bull heir cover-up

The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases sentenced former deputy attorney-general Nate Naksuk and senior prosecutor Chainarong Sangthongaram to three years and two years in prison respectively today, after finding them guilty of tampering with evidence to help Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya to evade a speeding charge.

Former police chief, Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmuang, and five other defendants, including Pol Maj-Gen Thawatchai Mekprasertsuk, former head of the Central Police Forensic Science Division, Pol Col Veeradol Taptimdee, former chief inquiry officer at Thonglor police station, and Dr. Saiprasit Kerdniyom, then a lecturer at King Mongkut Institute of Technology, were acquitted.

The two convicts are now applying for bail, over which the court is yet to make a decision.

The high profile case dates back to a fatal accident on Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Road, at about 5.20am on September 3rd, 2012, when a Ferrari sports car, driven by Vorayuth, crashed into Wichien Klanprasert, a police officer, who was riding a motorcycle, killing him on the spot.

Vorayuth was initially charged with reckless driving causing death, not stopping to help an accident victim, failing to report the case to the police, being over the blood-alcohol limit while driving and speeding.

Most of the charges were, however, dropped by the police or expired due to the statute of limitations, including speeding, drunk driving and reckless driving.

Regarding the dropping of the speeding charge, for which the eight defendants were put on trial, it was alleged that evidence had been tampered with, to lower the car’s speed and help Vorayuth.

Initially, the Red Bull heir was found to have been driving at about 177kph at the time of the accident. A professor from the King Mongkut Institute of Technology, Bangkok North campus, Dr. Saiprasit, was, however, brought in as an expert witness, to prove that the car was travelling within the limit of 80kph, which resulted in the dropping of the speeding charge by the public prosecutor.

Vorayuth fled Thailand on a private jet in 2017 and he has since been living in exile, even though Thai prosecutors have sought Interpol’s help to arrest him.