Thai Red Bull tycoon's grandson arrested 'after killing policeman in Ferrari'

The grandson of the Thai Red Bull energy drink tycoon allegedly killed a policeman while driving his gunmetal grey Ferrari through Bangkok in the early hours of the morning.

Vorayuth Yoovidhya, 27, is the grandson of the late Chaleo Yoovidhya, who helped found the Red Bull energy drink empire with Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz in 1987 Photo: AP

By Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok

2:48PM BST 03 Sep 2012

Vorayuth Yoovidhya, 27, was arrested at his father's house in a wealthy Bangkok suburb after police followed a trail of oil from the damaged sports car to the mansion in a gated community.

Police said the car had struck Sgt Maj Winchian Klanprasert, 47, and his motorcycle at 5.30am and dragged officer and machine along one of Bangkok's main roads for more than 100 metres.

The policeman, who was on patrol, was reported to have died of a broken neck and suffered multiple broken bones.

Mr Vorayuth, 27, is the grandson of the late Chaleo Yoovidhya, who helped found the Red Bull energy drink empire with Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz in 1987.

Mr Mateschitz took Mr Chaleo's existing energy drink idea sold in Thailand, tailored it to Western tastes, and turned it into the world's biggest energy drink brand.

When Mr Chaleo, who had an equal 49 per cent share in the company with Mr Mateschitz, died in March this year aged 89, he had an estimated £3.6 billion fortune, making him Thailand's fourth richest man.

The suspect was discovered at the house of his father, Chalerm Yoovidhya, where the Ferrari was discovered with a smashed windscreen, and crumpled bonnet and front bumper from the impact of the accident.

Bangkok's police chief Maj Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang had gone to the house to the house to talk to the family and, after Mr Vorayuth admitted he was at the wheel, he was arrested. He is likely to be charged with causing death by careless driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident which carries a maximum 10-year jail term.

Another senior officer who had arrived at the house first and falsely arrested another man as a scapegoat in an apparent effort to protect the Red Bull heir was immediately suspended from the police force.

Thai king pardons US car salesman over royal insult

An American car salesman who was jailed after insulting the King of Thailand has been granted a royal pardon.

Thai-born US citizen Joe Gordon in December 2011 

Jo Wichai Commart Gordon, 55, who was born in Thailand but is an American citizen, was serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in Bangkok after translating excerpts of a forbidden text – a banned biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej – into Thai while living in the United States.

The maximum sentence for slurs against the Thai monarchy is up to 15 years imprisonment, the harshest punishment for the offence in the world.

Mr Gordon, who was jailed in May last year, was given the pardon on Tuesday following months of US protests claiming he had a right to free speech.

After his release he was taken to the US embassy. No reason was given for the pardon.

"We are pleased that US citizen Joe Gordon was granted a royal pardon which allows him to be released from prison," an official for the US embassy said.

"We urge Thai authorities on a regular basis both privately and publicly to ensure that freedom of expression is protected in accordance with international obligations."

The royal pardon comes just a few days before Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, is due to meet with Yingluck Shinawatra, the Thai prime minister, for talks in Cambodia.

During the meeting they are expected to discuss plans for a $3.8bn hydroelectric dam in the Mekong region, a contract awarded to a Thai company.

Mr Gordon, who had lived in the US for 30 years, was one of four prisoners who have sought royal pardons, but so far only his case has been approved.

The case has raised questions about the applicability of Thai law to acts committed by foreigners outside the country.

Thai prince who loves cream tea spends £10,000 in Hampshire antiques shop

A Hampshire antique dealer had a surprise visit from the crown prince of Thailand and his 30-strong entourage when they swooped on his rural shop and spent more than £10,000 in a four-hour visit.

Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the heir apparent and only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, also requested a cream tea when called in at Jerry Mahoney's White Lions Antique Centre in Hartley Wintney.

Mr Mahoney, 52, closed the centre to the public while the prince and his wife, Princess Consort Srirasmi browsed the exhibits before buying 300 items of bone china.

The prince and his staff had flown into nearby Farnborough in a private 737 jet on June 20 for a holiday in the UK and had chosen the shop because it also served his favourite scones, strawberry jam and cream teas.

Mahoney said: " It was a great honour to have him visit us. You would have expected him to call in somewhere in London so it was a bit of a pleasant surprise.

"It is a massive thing to have someone from a royal family visit a little provincial shop like ours. They seemed very pleased with what they bought."

The Crown Prince, 59, has a reputation for living a playboy lifestyle. He was at the centre of a scandal in 2009 when an Australian TV channel obtained a copy of a dvd of a lavish birthday party he had thrown for his miniature poodle Foo Foo, at which Princess Srirasmi appeared wearing little more than a G-string.

US diplomatic cables released last year revealed senior Thai officials to have expressed misgivings about the suitability of the prince as a successor to his father.

General Prem Tinsulanonda, the head of the privy council, and council members Anand Panyarachun and Air Chief Marshal Siddhi Savetsila told the US Ambassador that they wished "other arrangements could be made".

THAI to launch regional budget carrier in 2013

BANGKOK: -- National carrier Thai Airways is working on plans with its sister budget airline Nok Air to launch a new low-cost airline by the middle of next year, with a focus on the regional market.

Chokchai Panyayong, acting president of Thai Airways International Plc (THAI), said yesterday that Nok Air has hired a consultant to conduct a feasibility study for the airline's launch, with the findings expected to be finalised by the end of this month. After this, discussion over possible business directions between the two firms will kick off.

Chokchai is also THAI's executive vice president for strategy and business development.

Under the plan, THAI would form a joint venture with Nok Air with registered capital of Bt200 million. THAI would hold a majority stake in the company.

The name of the new airline has not been finalised, but it will avoid the word 'Thai' to give it a more international image, especially within Asean. The routes will cover other countries in the region, not only Thailand.

Once up and running, it will be the third airline operated by THAI in addition to flagship carrier Thai Airways. THAI Smile will be launched officially this Saturday with its first flight to Macau from Suvarnabhumi Airport. THAI also holds a 49-per-cent stake in Nok Air.

Having a low-cost regional airline is expected to strengthen THAI's market position by capturing passengers in every segment ahead of the implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.

The launch of the new airline brands follows a business model pioneered by Singapore Airlines Limited, which operates the city-state's flagship carrier, plus Silk Air and two low-cost airlines - Scoot and Tiger Airways. Scoot focuses on medium and long-haul destinations, while Tiger flies to regional destinations.

THAI's new airline will adopt a pricing strategy to compete head-on with AirAsia, Chokchai said, adding that the launch would directly benefit consumers by giving them more choice. He was confident there was room for growth in the market, despite the rising number of low-cost airlines. In Asia, this market is still small compared to Europe and the US, where it has been established for a long time, he said. Passengers flying low-cost airlines make up 35-36 per cent of the total air-travel market.

A source in the aviation industry, who declined to be named, was concerned about the plan for a new THAI-operated carrier, saying it could lead to overlapping destinations for THAI and its subsidiaries.

Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO of Thai AirAsia, welcomed the move and said the market was big enough for new players, pointing out that Asean's 600-million-strong population would be combined into a single market in 2015 under the AEC.

"Success in the market will depend on ability,'' he said, adding that he was confident that AirAsia's strong brand and practical marketing strategy would allow it to keep its market share. Currently, the firm depends on head-on price competition with other players to protect its business.

THAI is struggling to emerge from a period of heavy losses. Last year, the firm posted a Bt10-billion loss. While it expects to earn Bt6 billion in net profit this year, and posted first-quarter net profit of Bt3.6 billion, it expects to see losses in the second and third quarters. In the first five months of this year, net profit missed its target of 50 per cent growth.

320 killed on highways in seven days of Songkran

BANGKOK, April 18--- Thailand’s death toll from road accidents nationwide during Thailand’s traditional week-long Songkran new year reached 320 with the number of injuries at 3,320 persons, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

During seven days of the Songkran holiday from April 11-17, 320 deaths were reported, rising by 49 persons compared to the same period last year, Deputy Prime Minister/Interior Minister Yongyuth Vichaidit told a news briefing on Wednesday in his capacity as director of the Road Safety Centre.

There were 3,129 accidents in total.

The deputy premier said that the northernmost province of Chiang Rai recorded the highest number of accidents at 125 and the highest number of casualties at 124.

Meanwhile, the southern province of Surat Thani had the highest death tally at 13 persons.

However, six provinces, including Nakhon Phanom, Trat, Trang, Pattani, Ranong and Satun, recorded no deaths from road accidents.

The major cause of accidents was attriibuted to drunken driving, followed by speeding, Mr Yongyuth explained.

He said that the road safety centre would compile the 7-day road accident statistics and provide suggestions to report to the Cabinet later and coordinate with concerned agencies to come up with measures and plans, aiming to reduce the number of deaths and injuries to zero.

In an attempt to cut the number of traffic accidents and casualties to the lowest levels possible, the government launched its campaign during the "Seven Dangerous Days" beginning April 11 through 17 to raise awareness among motorists to drive more carefully during Thailand’s traditional new year.

How Thailand can become the 'Detroit of Asia'

BANGKOK: -- Most people in Thailand believe that the country's potential in every sector will help it become the largest auto-producing nation in the region.

Thailand has been referred to as the "Detroit of Asia" for many years, although the basic foundation of the country was never planned to serve the expansion of auto production in the long term.

During the past several years, labour wages in Thailand have risen according to the higher cost of living, which is normal in a free global economy. But there has been a shortage in the workforce below the bachelor degree level because mistakes have been made in the planning of the national education system, which is not in harmony with the development of the country. There are also other factors, including a split in society due to politics.

Corruption by government officials at every level, the inability to effectively deal with natural disasters that are growing stronger each year, as well as the announcing of a free-trade area that allows tax-free imports in many areas, all come together in lowering Thailand's importance as an auto production base. There has even been talk recently about relocating the production bases for automobiles and parts to other countries in the region.

Initially, Vietnam was considered an important competitor to Thailand, but I’ve always said that Vietnam and the Philippines - that used to be a production base many years ago - are still far away from being able to compete against Thailand even in the near future.

However, the country we should be looking at the most is Indonesia. Almost every major auto manufacturer has an assembly plant in Indonesia, and though they are mostly joint-venture companies with local shareholders, the pattern was seen before in Thailand. There are chances that the brand owner may decided to increase its stake in these operations, which is not difficult these days since trade and investment barriers are more difficult to put up.

The benefit of relocating production from Thailand to Indonesia is that brand owners do not have to start from scratch in terms of investment, especially major Japanese auto-makers that have long been present in Indonesia.

According to the JAMA (Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association), Toyota has invested in Indonesia since 1971 and Mitsubishi entered that country in 1973. Other Japanese companies such as Hino, Honda, Isuzu, Nissan and Suzuki have all invested in Indonesia.

At the same time, the political situation in Indonesia has become more stable, unlike in Thailand where more and more conflicts are taking place, and there seems to be no quick solution. Indonesia's corruption problem is also improving, but corruption in Thailand is bound to become worse. There have been accusations of corruption in every government project, even the country's national disaster-relief projects.

Another important factor for investment is the sales figure in each country. Being able to sell thousands of vehicles in the home country dramatically helps lower production cost due to a larger economy of scale. This makes vehicles more price competitive when exported.

According to the sales figures of JAMA members in the Asean region in 2011, Thailand is the largest market with sales of 746,000 vehicles, followed by Indonesia with 728,101.

Malaysia is a distant third with 399,946 vehicles, followed by the Philippines with 135,296, Vietnam with 45,042 and Singapore with 16,883.

You can see that only Thailand and Indonesia have the same level of sales.

But Indonesia has a much larger chance of growing than Thailand. The 250 million people in Indonesia are enjoying increased income every year, and this will help accelerate auto sales there as compared to the 65 million people in Thailand.

As a Thai citizen who wants to see continued growth of automobile production in Thailand, the region's leader, I also want to see authorities make an attempt to improve the foundation in every sector so it is in harmony with growth.

This means supporting the auto-parts industry, having a long-term energy plan that is trustworthy, clear tax policies and development of skilled workers for factories that need to be improved urgently.

Otherwise, the phrase "Detroit of Asia" would just be a joke and Indonesia will eventually grab the title of the largest auto producer in Asean.

Plan to give MPs iPADs and smart phones comes under fire

BANGKOK: -- A government plan to give MPs and senators Tablet PCs and smart phones have been heavily criticised by social media users and some parliamentarians.

Senator Rosana Tositrakul, was one who opposes the idea. "Our country already has much debt so we should save the money," she said.

Rosana said the notebook computer that MPs and senators get should be enough for their work. "No need for tablets or mobile phones."

Deputy Senate Speaker Nikom Wairatpanij revealed the plan to buy tablet computers for senators and MPs to a Senate committee last Wednesday and the meeting had no comment on it, Rosana said. She is a member of the Senate panel on preventing corruption and promoting good governance.

On Twitter, many users questioned whether the parliamentarians will utilise the devices.

@paenewfolder said: "I think it is more or less surely about commission. Are (the gadgets) necessary for them? No. But they will take them if they are given. But what they are going to use the gadget for?"

@Bodee said: "It is important who started this, and what the prime minister thinks about it. The public should now."

@kidousenshi posted: "What kind of an iPhone costs over Bt70,000? NACC should investigate."

Deputy House Speaker Charoen Jankomol yesterday confirmed the Bt50-million plan, saying that with such a budget they could purchase handsets and licensed programmes. Some 700 sets of equipment would be procured and the next step was to identify equipment specifications.

Tablets and smart phones would be provided to MPs, senators and senior officers of the Parliament (director level and upper).

Charoen said earlier the Parliament secretariat had identified the "best" available equipment.

Democrat MP Boonyod Suktinthai, a member of the House Affairs committee, said the panel had not officially discussed the issue but there had been talk that a survey should be conducted to learn about parliamentarians' needs and necessities.

He explained that the House Speaker had authority to decide what to do with funds remaining from last year. In this case, Deputy House Speaker Charoen was in charge of the project.

Boonyod said he only knew about plans to give out iPad tablet PCs, but not iPhones as well.

"Some MPs are used to the laptop they are using, and they don't want to learn to use the touch screen. I still see some MPs carrying the Toshiba laptops nowadays," he said.

Boonyod was referring to Toshiba laptops bought by the Parliament and given to the previous group of House MPs to work on. They signed forms noting that they had been given the laptops on loan and some were still using them.

Meanwhile, some new MPs had received Lenovo laptops, allegedly donated by the Chinese government, instead of Toshiba laptops, which some former MPs had failed to return to the Parliament.

Boonyod gave an example of the air-card Internet-connection device that Parliament provided to MPs, as a problem in the past. While many members did not use it, Parliament needed to pay a monthly fee for this.

However, Boonyod said he did not think any MP would complain if they were given iPADs or tablets.

"It is human nature. When something is given for free, we accept without complaining. If any MP doesn’t use it, (he or she) can let their secretary or assistant use it. MPs won't complain about getting free items. They will complain only if they don't get it or they don't get it equally to what other MPs get."

Boonyod said a concern was that Parliament might buy the products at higher prices than it should pay. And applications would make the cost more, so applications should be provided only if necessary.

Government chief whip Udomdej Ratanasathien said the project was Parliament's plan for human resource development and to use the equipment for communication and coordination. It was no problem that some parliamentarians already had such equipment as it was for the welfare of MPs and he believed they would utilise it to some extent.

A key Pheu Thai member, who asked not to be named, said that in the latter period of the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, Pheu Thai Party gave each MP an iPhone 4 handset so they could talk to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra via Skype - so they could see each other's faces and hear their voices. Thaksin also had phone numbers of all MPs and followed their popularity.

The giving away of mobile phones was due to thinking about the next election, he said. Many MPs were not familiar with the use of smart phone or learning new programmes. They asked their children to teach them how to use them and thought it was their burden having to carry another phone besides their own.

Bangkok Council chairman Suthichai Weerakulsoonthorn, meanwhile, said yesterday the council also planned to give Tablet PC to its members, so they can receive complaints from people via Facebook and email. The council would use its own budget, as Tablet PCs were no longer very costly. He insisted the project would happen.