BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court convicted and sentenced on Tuesday two former prosecutors in connection with an alleged cover-up of a 2012 Ferrari crash involving an heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune that killed a police officer.
Former Deputy Attorney General Nate Naksuk and former prosecutor Chainarong Sangthongaram were sentenced to three and two years, respectively, for abuse of power to help an individual avoid prosecution, said the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases in Bangkok.
They were among eight people charged with conspiring to alter the recorded speed of the Ferrari driven by Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya to help him evade a speeding charge. The rest, including former Police Chief Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung, were acquitted due to a lack of evidence linking them to the cover-up, the court said on Tuesday.
However, the court ordered all eight to be detained pending an appeal, according to the court statement, which didn’t provide further details. They were later released on bail, local media reported.
Vorayuth escaped justice by fleeing abroad in a case widely viewed as an example of how the rich and well-connected enjoy impunity in Thailand.
He is the grandson of the late Chaleo Yoovidhya, one of the creators of the globally famous Red Bull brand. Forbes magazine last year listed the Yoovidhya family as Thailand’s richest with an estimated net worth of $36 billion.
Police have said Vorayuth smashed his Ferrari into the back of a police officer’s motorbike around dawn on a major Bangkok road in September 2012. The officer was flung from the bike and died at the scene. Vorayuth drove home and was later arrested. Medical tests showed traces of alcohol and cocaine in his bloodstream, according to police.
Vorayuth avoided further legal action by consistently failing to meet with prosecutors, while continuing for years to live a jet-set life. By the time prosecutors finally issued an arrest warrant in April 2017, Vorayuth had fled abroad.
His case has been marked by numerous delays in the investigative and judicial processes, running down the clock on most of the charges involving the hit-and-run death of the officer. There is a single charge left of reckless driving causing death, which expires under the statute of limitations in 2027.
FILE - Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya, whose grandfather co-founded energy drink company Red Bull, walks to get in a car as he leaves a house in London, on April 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
Halley's comet swings near Earth every 75 years. But debris left by the comet leads to two major meteor showers every year including the Eta Aquarids.
When this meteor shower lights up the night sky, “you'll know that Earth is crossing the path of the most famous comet,” said Shauna Edson of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
The Eta Aquarids are “pretty fast meteors” said NASA's Bill Cooke.
During Tuesday morning’s peak, expect to see 10 to 15 meteors per hour in ideal viewing conditions, said Cooke.
However, the moon will be nearly two-thirds full, which will likely reduce visibility.
Viewing lasts until May 28. Here’s what to know about the Eta Aquarids and other meteor showers.
As the Earth orbits the sun, several times a year it passes through debris left by passing comets and sometimes asteroids. The source of the Eta Aquarids is debris from Halley's comet.
When these fast-moving space rocks enter Earth’s atmosphere, the debris encounters new resistance from the air and becomes very hot, eventually burning up.
Sometimes the surrounding air glows briefly, leaving behind a fiery tail — the end of a “shooting star.”
You don’t need special equipment to see the various meteor showers that flash across annually, just a spot away from city lights.
The best time to watch a meteor shower is in the early predawn hours when the moon is low in the sky.
Competing sources of light — such as a bright moon or artificial glow — are the main obstacles to a clear view of meteors. Cloudless nights when the moon wanes smallest are optimal viewing opportunities.
And keep looking up, not down. Your eyes will be better adapted to spot shooting stars if you aren’t checking your phone.
The next major meteor shower, the Southern Delta Aquarids, peaks in late July.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky during the Perseid meteor shower in Vinton, California, Aug. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Kevin Clifford, File)
FILE - A meteor streaks through the sky over Joshua trees and rocks at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert in this 30-minute time exposure ending at 1:15 a.m. PST, Nov. 17, 1998. Stars moving through the sky as the Earth rotates are seen as a series of short lines across the frame. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows an Eta Aquarid meteor streaking over northern Georgia on April 29, 2012. (B. Cooke/Marshall Space Flight Center/NASA via AP, File)
