BANGKOK (AP) – Thai immigration authorities say the heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune who is wanted on deadly hit-and-run charges flew to Singapore two days before he was due to appear before prosecutors.
And airport authorities in Singapore confirmed Tuesday his private plane is still there.
When he left Bangkok, Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, 32, wasn’t a fugitive. But on Friday authorities issued an arrest warrant and notified Interpol that he’s wanted on charges of causing death by reckless driving and hit and run. Thai police say they don’t know if he has left Singapore, and Thailand’s foreign minister said he hasn’t revoked Vorayuth’s passport, which means he still could travel elsewhere internationally.
The arrest warrant came almost five years after Vorayuth allegedly left a motorcycle police officer dead after crashing into him with his Ferrari. His family, half-owners of the Red Bull empire, has an estimated wealth of more than $20 billion.
Police Lt .Gen. Nathatorn Prousoontor, commissioner at the Thai Immigration Bureau, said Tuesday that Vorayuth left Thailand on April 25, at 3 p.m., on a private jet. He left just weeks after an Associated Press investigation found he’s been enjoying his family’s jet-set life ever since the 2012 accident and days before he was due in court.