Blood test which according to police was taken within one hour of the incident revealed just 10.73 milligrammes of alcohol, well below the 50 milligrammes limit prescribed by the law. Now the Bentley driver, already before the courts for reckless driving, may also face further charges if police can confirm that he was driving under the influence of illegal narcotics.
Police revealed on Friday that illicit drugs had been detected in the bloodstream of the owner of a Bentley Continental car which was involved in a six-vehicle collision in Bangkok on Sunday night which has sparked public outrage after the owner of the car and his girlfriend left the scene while leaving behind a wine bottle on the seats of the damaged vehicle. The test results are already being reviewed by police who are summoning the businessman possibly to press further charges of driving while under the influence of drugs after the Bentley car owner’s appearance in court this week on reckless driving charges while under the influence of alcohol.
The man has been identified as Suthat Siwapiromrat and is reportedly a company director with extensive business interests who has also, in the past, had political connections.
The Royal Thai Police identified the Bentley driver at the centre of growing public outrage after a smash-up on Sunday night on a busy expressway in the vicinity of the capital Bangkok as a land trading businessman involved in fresh markets and construction material sales named Suthat Siwapiromrat.
Bentley owner is a company director with extensive business interests as well as political connections
On Friday, police investigating the case disclosed that a blood test on the driver indicated that he may have ingested illicit drugs before the crash with traces of what may be methamphetamine found in the samples analysed by laboratories after a test was conducted at Police General Hospital in the capital.
It was reported that the Metropolitan Police Bureau have received the results of a blood test in respect of the Bentley driver but reporters were told that a specialist at the Police General Hospital was further analysing the sample to understand the type and quantity of illicit narcotics found in the driver’s bloodstream although it is known that one of the substances could be methamphetamine.
Further specialist tests on the blood sample taken on Sunday night after Mr Suthat complaint of chest pains and refused a breathalyser test at the crash scene
However, police briefed reporters that there were further addictive substances and are now summoning the driver to meet with police investigators.
Police said further tests may be required after the narcotics were detected in the blood tests. Details were given by the Deputy Metropolitan Police Bureau Chief Police Lieutenant General Jirasan Kaewsangek.
Further tests are required to identify the exact substance as it could be either methamphetamine, ketamine, diazepam or nordiazepam.
In the meantime, Mr Suthat will be summoned to answer the charge of driving under the influence of illegal narcotics.
It is understood that a meeting with the lawyers of injured parties involved in the smash-up on Sunday night took place in recent days in which full compensation and new vehicles were offered to those involved in talks brokered by police investigators to whom Mr Suthat reported on the night of the crash after leaving the scene of the accident in what appeared to onlookers to be an intoxicated state.
Blood test found he was not intoxicated for the purposes of the road traffic act and was substantially under the limit required for prosecution in court
A senior officer this week explained that Mr Suthat had declined to take a breathalyser test because of fears for his health and complained of chest pains after being hit by an exploding airbag in his car.
He later gave a blood sample which was the appropriate alternative to police at the hospital.
It is understood that the blood test results on Friday showed a blood alcohol level of 10.73 milligrammes, well below the legal limit of 50 milligrammes.
Blue Pajero owner’s father had his arm broken and was among 8 people injured in the complex 6-vehicle road smash with no fatalities or serious injuries
The owner of a newly acquired blue Mitsubishi Pajero SUV destroyed in the crash this week revealed that his father had broken his arm in the smash while he was still uncertain as to whether he would be fully compensated or not.
A total of 8 people were injured in the crash although none had serious or life-threatening injuries.
One of them was a 4-year-old child while two firefighters were also hurt.
The incident occurred on the busy Chaloem Maha Nakhon expressway and it is now understood that the Bentley rammed into the back of the newly acquired blue Pajero Mitsubishi vehicle, knocking it into the way of the emergency services vehicle.
Like other parties who have participated in the talks this week the Pajero owner also initially complained that he had received no direct apologies from the Bentley driver although Mr Suthat has publicly apologised for what happened last Sunday.
Police deny any preferential treatment and are determined to pursue the case fairly under the law
The case has sparked public outcry due to the car driver’s actions on Sunday night when he and a girlfriend in the car left the scene amid protests with video clips from the scene revealing a bottle of wine on one of the seats of the supercar.
There has also been public concern that the man’s affluence may have afforded him special treatment, an impression that senior police officers have been at pains to allay.
There was also public consternation when a junior police officer earlier reported that the results of the blood test carried out on the man by police would not be available until February 1st before a senior officer of the Metropolitan Police Bureau intervened and spokesman Police Major General Archayaon Kraithong promised that full charges would be pressed against the man and expeditiously.
On Friday, Deputy Metropolitan Police Bureau Commissioner Jirasan pointed out that the blood test on the businessman had been taken within one hour of the incident on Sunday night.
A new Bentley Continental normally retails in Thailand for a price of over ฿21 million or $660,000.
Released by a Bangkok court on ฿100,000 bail
The driver of the Bentley is currently at liberty on ฿100,000 bail surety from the Bangkok South Municipal Court after appearing before it this week charged with reckless driving and endangering others while under the influence of alcohol.
Police promise full charges to be filed against reckless Bentley driver over multicar expressway smash-up
The owner of the luxury car has reportedly offered to pay for all the damage caused in Sunday’s 6-vehicle smash which destroyed the 21-day-old blue Mitsubishi Pajero SUV and a municipal fire engine vehicle responding to an emergency call out in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok.
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