RTP chief denies knowing that Red Bull Boss is in Austria

[webfact]

Picture: Daily News

 

The Royal Thai Police were thrown into a flurry of activity after a senior House official claimed that they knew that Red Bull scion Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya was hiding out in Austria.

 

Comments made by the vice chairman of the House committee on police affairs Sanya Nilsuphan and widely reported in Thailand's print media prompted RTP chief Gen Suwat Chaengyodsuk to be grilled by the press.

 

Gen Suwat explained clearly the latest details but was clearly flustered by all the activity and caught on the hop by the Austria claim.

 

When pressed by Daily News as to the fugitive's whereabouts he would not confirm or deny that he was in Austria.

 

He said that the police needed to check whether they had a treaty with Austria if it emerged that he was there.

 

One reporter asked rather baldly if it was the Thai police's job to catch the bad guys.

 

Suwat said it was indeed their job to apprehend those charged with offences but he said that in a case like this the police can't just go to a country and make an arrest.

 

They have no jurisdiction (in Austria or anywhere else) and have to follow the correct procedures.

 

He promised that later on Friday more details would follow.

 

Picture: Daily News

 

And follow they did mid-afternoon as also reported by Daily News when a panel of top brass headed by Pol Maj-Gen Yingyot Thepjamnong faced the cameras in an effort to clarify the situation. 

 

This time it was revealed that the charge of cocaine use against Boss would run out (according to the statute of limitations) on September 3rd next year. 

 

The other charge - that of negligent driving - can be prosecuted until September 3rd 2027. 

 

The former has a five year span, the latter ten.

 

The hastily arranged press conference featured top policemen explaining that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies were working together with the police to locate Boss and bring him to justice.

 

Interpol's Red Notice procedures were explained and the limitations on what the Thai police can do were outlined. 

 

Other details were given that were little more than a filler. There was no indication as to whether Boss was in Austria or not. 

 

ASEAN NOW notes that the latest scurrying of the RTP was precipitated by Sanya perhaps speaking out of turn following a meeting. 

 

While some have suggested that there is little RTP appetite to bring Boss to justice - and they are understandably receiving no help from the Yoovidhya family - there are clearly limitations as to the reach of the RTP abroad.

 

Critics suggest that prosecuting Boss could lead to an even worse RTP can of worms being revealed.

 

Boss's whereabouts have been subject to much speculation since he fled Thailand in 2017. 

 

A huge furor was made last year when charges were dropped by a now vilified senior prosecutor then reinstated in a different form after PM Prayuth Chan-ocha stepped in. 

 

The whole case stems from an incident in September 2012 when Boss allegedly dragged a senior police sergeant attached to the Thong Lo police in Bangkok, who was riding a motorcycle, under the wheels of his gray Ferrari.

 

The policeman was killed. Many claimed in the aftermath that the family of the dead officer were paid off and police have constantly stalled and covered up the extent of the case that has seen many senior officers fall under suspicion. 

 

It is perhaps true to say that more is being done to investigate the aftermath of the case in Thailand than bring the fugitive to justice. 

 

A claim that the RTP in yesterday's press conferences were keen to deny in what can be seen as little more than impotent bluster. 

 

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[worgeordie]

Maybe does not know where his elbow is either.....

it's really obvious they really don't want to bring

him back to Thailand to face justice , even though

he allegedly killed one of their own, ... 

regards Worgeordie

[JoePai]

Bunch of clowns

[Will B Good]

Poor souls....what a mess.......the last thing they want is to find him and bring him back.

 

There is just a risk that this could tarnish the RTP's image......555

[ukrules]

I can tell you this, after this tip off even if he was in Austria previously then he's almost certainly not there now.

 

[Bluespunk]

“RTP chief denies knowing that Red Bull Boss is in Austria”

because the standing orders in place mandate no is to tell him where he might be at any given time. 
 

Sarcasm alert  

[Gsxrnz]

16 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Poor souls....what a mess.......the last thing they want is to find him and bring him back.

 

There is just a risk that this could tarnish the RTP's image......555

 

[LomSak27]

Strange he didn't mouth the usual ' extradition' platitude put off. Instead he immediately deflected with.
 

29 minutes ago, webfact said:

He said that the police needed to check whether they had a treaty with Austria if it emerged that he was there.

That has never stopped them before. Looks like people might actually want an 'extradition' and follow up on it - Shock! Horror!

[Will B Good]

Strange how they seem so hampered by procedures, protocols, rules and regulations when it comes to apprehending this toe rag .........yet these same problems seem to melt away when it comes to an activist in, say, Cambodia???

[ThailandRyan]

Just call Dog the Bounty Hunter. BOSS will be back in Thailand Pronto...

[mtls2005]

As long as boss keeps up his donations to the Police Benevolent Association of thailand he will be fine.

 

This latest episode of "Where is boss" is reminiscent of the Interpol Red Notice kerfuffle a few years ago.

 

Why not just give up, acknowledge what EVERYONE knows - the thai legal system is a bad joke - and move on.

 

Just stop trying to jump the shark.

 

 

 

 

[Jerno]

Welcome home, Boss! Sept 8, 2027.  Your new Ferrari is waiting in Bangkok for you. 

[Gottfrid]

RTP Chief do not know??? Why is that strange? It´s not the first time other people know more than the police regarding the work they are supposed to do.

[RafPinto]

48 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Just call Dog the Bounty Hunter. BOSS will be back in Thailand Pronto...

If they pay me 50Million Baht into my swiss account, I bring him back with myVespa.

[Tropicalevo]

It is going to cost Boss a lot more to stay free now that Interpol had a new head from the UAE.

Maj. Gen. Al-Raisi is reported to be corrupt and a torturer.

[rupert the bear]

know where he is now,austrians will arrest/detain him if requested and then await extradition procedures,simple,do it now,corrupt low life

[Pedrogaz]

I would suggest the opposition bring a motion to extend retroactively the stature of limitations on the negligent driving charge to 50 years. Let's see if Prayut and co continue to cover for this creep.

[thaibook]

The RTP was ccreated to monitor corruption and make sure the proceeds were distributed in a regulated way.  This is why there is a branch in every ministry and department.  It would not be right for a Minister of say education, to receive a commission for procurement and not to share it with his fellows including RTP.  These regulations are not to be broken.

[anfh]

Utter rubbish. They have always known where he is. And as for “ checking if we have a treaty with Austria “, they know the answer to that as well. 

[hellohello123]

It's called money induced amnesia

 

Pay him enough and he will forget his own name

[klauskunkel]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

there are clearly limitations as to the reach of the RTP abroad

thank goodness

[dsj]

All they have to do is suspend or not renew his passport, then they will know exactly where he is when he tries to renew it.

[TheFishman1]

These coppers are a joke TIT

[outsider]

It is very confounding how these gits can maintain a straight face when telling funny jokes like this. They even put on a show to make it look 'official'. If I was one of them, I would have burst out laughing in the middle of the press conference!!! The entire world is laughing yet they can maintain a straight face - this is not an easy thing to do. Credit where it is due - well done lads!

[Cat Boy]

13 minutes ago, TheFishman1 said:

These coppers are a joke TIT

It's a tragic comedy, not intended to be taken seriously in any way.

 

Purely staged for theatrical effect 

[malibukid]

judging by the photo the kid looks like he's a pint empty

[mtls2005]

In Austria to pick up his Red Bull dividend? 

 

Let us know how that gets treated re: taxes in thailand?

 

 

 

Red Bull, the holding company overseeing sales of the canned caffeine-spiked drink, booked net revenue of 6.3 billion euro (S$9.65 billion) in 2020, 4 per cent more than a year earlier, according to the group's annual report posted to the Austrian company register. That produced net income of 1.18 billion euros, a 29 per cent increase from 2019.

 

Red Bull is paying out half of the year's distributable profit plus half a billion euros of retained earnings to Mateschitz and his co-shareholders, Thailand's Yoovidhya family, which controls 51 per cent of the company, according to a resolution of the shareholders attached to the annual report.

Red Bull's total dividend is more than double the amount paid to shareholders last year.

 

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/red-bull-billionaire-grabs-us765m-dividend-in-year-of-pandemic

[Willy Wombat]

RTP. A sad pantomime 

[tonysilly]

What A joke!! He can't arrested him, because Red Bull pay him money mak mak 100%%

[seajae]

come on, why would they want their ongoing cash cow to end, as per usual the gaft and corruption in Thailand is alive and well as are their total BS claims about trying to do anything