A police panel investigating Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya's alleged hit-and-run case has found flaws in the work of 20 police officers, including a deputy commissioner and investigators who worked on it before forwarding it to prosecutors, according to a source close to those involved.
The officers include Pol Col Thanasit Taengchan, from the Office of Police Forensic Science, who examined the scene of the accident in 2012 and later changed his statement to revise the speed of the Red Bull scion's Ferrari from 177kph to 79kph.
The national police chief is expected to consider the panel's conclusions for about a week. If any police officers are found guilty of criminal offences, they will be judged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission as well as face disciplinary penalties, the source added.
The panel also ruled that the speed Mr Vorayuth was driving at when he collided with and killed a police motorcyclist -- 177kph and 126kph as calculated by specialists -- was important evidence that could prove he was guilty of reckless driving.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Attorney-General yesterday instructed Thong Lor police to interrogate three more witnesses in Mr Vorayuth's case.
Yesterday, the House Committee on police affairs, which also investigated the police's decision to drop Mr Vorayuth's charge of causing death by reckless driving in his hit-and-run case, has suggested that the period of time while on the run should not be included in the statute of limitations of the case.
Mr Vorayuth fled in 2017, two days before he was due to report to hear the charge against him.
Natchanon Srikokuea, spokesperson for the House committee on police affairs, said it would send the House speaker the results of its probe into the police handling of the hit-and-run case after prosecutors dropped charges against the suspect. The report will also be submitted to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Vicha Mahakun, the chairman of an inquiry committee appointed by the premier to probe the prosecutors' decision to not indict Mr Vorayuth.
The police affairs committee concluded that the police investigation and the prosecutors' non-prosecution order were in line with legal procedures and relevant regulations.
However, it found the judgement of police and prosecutors to be problematic and unjust in the eyes of the public.
Mr Natchanon said prosecutors could lay a charge of cocaine abuse against Mr Vorayuth but not reinstate the reckless driving charges.
Officers who failed to press a drug use charge and prosecute a suspect for consuming illicit substances could face penalties for negligence of duty, he said.
