The high-speed car crash in Ayutthaya that killed two post-graduate students on the spot on March 13 has brought back the memories of two similar cases in recent years where children of wealthy families killed other people while driving and the revelation so far has confirmed everyone’s fears.
Netizens have been criticising police investigation and wondering if reckless drivers from rich families would ever serve jail terms.
In one case, an unlicensed, 17-year-old driver, Orachorn “Praewa” Thephasadin na Ayudhya, killed nine people in a crash on Don Muang tollway on Dec 27, 2010.
In 2014, the Appeals Court sentenced her to two years in jail, suspended for four years, and ordered her to perform community service for 48 hours each year for four years. She was also banned from driving until she is 25.
But latest official records indicated she might not have performed the community service the right way.
Probation Department chief Pol Col Narat Sawetanant on Friday accused her of breaching the court order.
Orachorn, now 23, denied the allegation, saying she had already performed community service at Phramongkutklao Hospital.
But Pol Col Narat said Orachorn was required to first consult with officials on where she should perform the mandatory service. Instead, she chose the place by herself without telling responsible officials.
Deputy hospital director Col Peerapol Pokpong on Monday confirmed she had done 138 hours of community service at the facility from Jan 11 and Feb 12 this year. A probation officer from Nonthaburi, Chanchanok Jaimcharoen, met the woman at the hospital on Jan 27. He added Orachorn took care of patients injured from car accidents and soldiers wounded in the southern border provinces.
Pol Col Narat argued that the department did not send Ms Chanchanok to the hospital and a committee was being formed to investigate into the matter.
In another case, the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) has yet to indict the heir to the Red Bull energy-drink empire, citing slow police investigation and multiple petitions filed by the suspect.
Vorayudh “Boss” Yoovidhya, a grandson of the late Red Bull founder Chaleo, allegedly rammed his Ferrari into Pol Snr Sgt Maj Wichian Klanprasert's motorcycle on Sukhumvit Soi 47 in the early hours of Sept 3, 2012, killing him on spot.
He is now facing charges of reckless driving causing death and failing to stop a vehicle to help a victim, but the indictments never came.
Although the case has dragged on for almost four years, attorney-general Pongniwat Yuthapanboripan said Monday the case is still being investigated because of the suspect’s requests for justice and fair treatment.
“There are some points that are not quite clear so we need to provide justice to all sides,” Mr Pongniwat said, but did not elaborate further.
The OAG blamed investigators at Thong Lor police station for the delay.
Isara News Agency, quoting a highly placed source in the OAG, said the prosecutors had ordered indictments on the two charges but Mr Vorayudh had petitioned the attorney-general to review the investigation report for the sake of fairness. The OAG then ordered police investigators to find additional evidence on Sept 3, 2013.
“But it has been almost four years and the police have yet to submit the additional investigation report to the OAG. So the public prosecutors have not been able to indict him,” the source said.
The source said the prosecutors would write to Thong Lor police investigators to ask about the progress.
The statute of limitations of the two charges are 15 years and five years respectively.
An earlier speeding charge against Mr Vorayudh was dropped in 2013 because the one-year statute of limitations on it expired after the Red Bull heir postponed hearing the indictment six times, citing sicknesses and requesting more witnesses and experts be questioned.
An OAG source told the Bangkok Post on Saturday that a new team of prosecutors was being formed after the prosecutor who handled the case died.
