A crashed Ferrari, a dead cop and a fugitive heir to a multibillion-dollar fortune – 10 years later, Thailand is no closer to solving one of its most infamous hit-and-run cases.

Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, princeling of the Red Bull energy drink family, is accused of driving his sports car into police officer Wichean Glanprasert’s motorbike on Saturday a decade ago in Bangkok’s most affluent area.

After dodging prosecutors and eventually fleeing Thailand on a private jet in 2017, Vorayuth has become a symbol of what critics say is the impunity enjoyed by the kingdom’s super-rich.

“The perception of different justice systems for different sections of society is crippling people’s confidence in the Thai state’s ability to fulfill its responsibility to protect human rights for all Thais,” Amnesty International Thailand told AFP.

The grandson of Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, who died in 2012, Vorayuth is part of a clan with an estimated net worth of $26.4 billion – the second richest family in Thailand, according to Forbes.

“This family is not only powerful in Thailand, but also very powerful worldwide,” Thai political scientist Pavin Chachavalpongpun of Kyoto University told AFP.

Within hours of the accident, investigators followed a trail of brake fluid to the Yoovidhya family compound in Bangkok, where they found a badly battered vehicle with a smashed windshield.

Police initially accepted a claim that an employee was driving, but Vorayuth became the prime suspect and his family later paid the victim’s relatives $100,000 in compensation, according to the BBC and the New York Times.

For five years, Vorayuth played a game of cat-and-mouse, dodging court in court – claiming through lawyers he was abroad on business or sick – while photos documented a world-spanning lifestyle: living in London, attending Red Bull attend racing events or go on beach vacations and ski trips.

Charges of speeding, drunk driving and failure to provide assistance all expired before a Bangkok court belatedly issued an arrest warrant in 2017.

By this time, Vorayuth had already fled.

In 2020, Thai authorities dropped all charges against Vorayuth, sparking a major public outcry – including a social media campaign to #BoycottRedBull.

Amid the backlash, TCP Group – Red Bull Thailand’s parent company – distanced the firm from the case, saying the matter was a private matter.

As anger mounted and youth-led anti-government demonstrations in the streets increased, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s office ordered a review, which concluded that the entire investigation had been “compromised”.

Rights activists contrasted the negligence in the Vorayuth case with swift action taken against anti-government protest leaders, many of whom have faced multiple charges of royal defamation, which carry prison sentences of up to 15 years.

Thailand’s Attorney General’s Office announced new charges against Vorayuth and in September 2020 Interpol issued a Red Notice for his arrest.

An updated version from March last year states that Vorayuth had attempted to access the Red Notice and was likely in France at the time.

Austria, where Red Bull has its headquarters, was also mentioned as a possible location in the announcement.

A cocaine-use charge expired last month, Thailand’s attorney general’s office said, leaving prosecutors with only one option to crack down on Vorayuth: reckless driving, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The AG’s office told AFP the charges were valid until 2027. However, few expect Vorayuth to be brought to justice.

“Even from the start, a lot of people were expecting how it would end,” Pavin said, noting the intense public anger over the case.

“For the rich to get away with crime has become so normal in Thai society. Thai people don’t accept that this is okay.”