Defamation suit filed by Red Bull family over bribery allegations

A 50-million baht defamation suit was filed with the Criminal Court today by the head of the Red Bull family, Chalerm Yoovidhya, against Senator Pol Lt-Gen Sanit Mahathavorn and a TV presenter over a talk show, in which an allegation was made that the Red Bull family had paid about Bt300 million in bribes to save Chalerm’s son, Vorayuth, from prosecution following a fatal hit-and-run in 2012.

After filing the suit, Amphol Kaewpan, a lawyer representing Chalerm, told the media that the bribery allegation was baseless and has ruined the reputation of the Yoovidhya family.

According to Amphol, Pol Lt-Gen Sanit, former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, was invited to appear on the talk show, moderated by Ubonrat Thaonoi, on February 29th. The topic of the show was the infamous hit-and-run case, during which the allegation of bribery was made by the senator, he said.

Some segments of the program were re-run on TikTok and Ubonrat’s webpage, said the lawyer.

In the hit-and-run case, Vorayuth, grandson of billionaire Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, was accused of driving his Ferrari sports car into Wichian Klanprasert, a police officer, as he was riding a motorcycle along Sukhumvit Road on the night of September 3rd, 2012, killing him on the spot.

He was initially charged with speeding, fleeing the scene of an accident and reckless driving, but all the charges against them were dropped, either because of expiry of the statute of limitations or by the public prosecutors in charge of the case.

Vorayuth fled the country and is still at large. Thai police and prosecutors still cannot locate his whereabouts, even though a Red Notice was issued by Interpol at the request of the Thai police.

File photo shows Vorayuth Yoovidhya, grandson of the creator of Red Bull energy drink and accused of hit-and-run, being arrested at Thong Lor police station in Bangkok in 2012.//EPA