There was a lot of disgust over the handling of rich lawbreakers in Thailand because it is seen time and time again that the rich are able to get away with things that the rest of us would definitely get thrown in jail for, even killing someone while driving under the influence, which is exactly what Vorayuth Yoovidhya had done one night when he crashed his supercar into a police officer, killing him.
Let's make no mistake here, if that police officer had been just a normal person, we never would have even heard about this case but the fact that it was an officer of the law, who themselves are a major source of corruption in the Kingdom of Thailand, this story likely wouldn't have been a story at all.
After many years of evading the law and hiring very high-profile lawyers to delay the case, the charges against the heir to the Red Bull throne whose family is worth an estimated $20 billion, were dropped due to the statute of limitations.
known by his nickname "Boss", Yoovidhya is a member of the 2nd richest family in all of Thailand
It was expected that this young man would get much more lenient treatment than the average person would, but the fact that he faced no justice at all and immediately fled the country in a move that most people wouldn't have access to, it angered the public... and I think that is very understandable. Most sensible people who are trying to evade the law would lie low but "Boss" was living it up around the world and was seen in public frequently as he jet set around the world living a luxurious life and frequently posting his escapades to social media. It was as if he was bragging about the fact that he is untouchable by the law.
While most advisors would probably say that it is a good time to stay completely out of the public eye, "Boss" was making appearances as Formula-1 events around the globe, including this on in Abu Dhabi in 2016.
When the statue of limitations ran out on the charges earlier this year and the charges were dropped (as they have to be according to the Thai constitution) the people were outraged.. again, as they should be. This injustice served as a catalyst for what has become anti-government protests in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, two of the country's most heavily populated areas.
While I am certain that the government will try to paint the picture of that they were "going to do this anyway" it is pretty easy to see that their recent decision to open a new case against "Boss" is directly because of the civil unrest.
He has now been charged with causing death by negligent driving and use of a narcotic substance.
You can't face the same charges twice in Thailand but now the new charges involved the fact that there was cocaine in his bloodwork during the brief period of time that "Boss" and his family were pretending to comply with Thai law. I am quite certain that there have been some behind the scenes deals made in order to pretend to bring Boss to justice but at least something is happening! I think the attention of the anti-government mob and their heavy focus on the Red Bull heir has made it impossible for the government to sweep this one under the rug.
Boss currently has no Thai passport that the public are aware of but for some reason prior to all of these, he had two. Both of them have been cancelled. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
Is this justice? Well, if you know much about Thailand you can easily surmise that this is public relations rather than the government actually being interested in genuine fairness and justice, but at least something is happening now. The question is, will it be enough? I believe that the damage due to years of inactivity is already done and the people will see right through this because even if he is convicted (and he should be,the evidence is pretty damning) he wont do the time that you or I would.