Adrees Latif / Reuters

Royal Consort Princess Srirasmi, left, and Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana take part in the pre-funeral ceremony for Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's late sister Princess Galyani Vadhana in Bangkok in October 2008. Srirasmi recently spent time shopping for antiques in Britain.

LONDON -- A Thai princess stripped the shelves and rang up around $40,000 through the tills of an English antiques center during an eight-hour shopping spree, storeowners said.

Antiques dealers in Battlesbridge, in the southeastern English county of Essex, said Royal Consort Princess Srirasmi of Thailand scooped up hundreds of items and paid for them -- on the spot and in cash – during her visit on Friday.

'Masses and masses of it'
The princess purchased a variety of antiques, including china tea sets, silverware and oil lamps.

“The princess was just choosing things that took her fancy. ... Very decorative items -- but masses and masses of it,” another dealer said.

The princess visited the antiques market accompanied by the Thai Ambassador Kitti Wasinondh, 15 assistants and the royal physician.

Local shopkeepers said they had no prior warning, although a few months ago they were told that a group of VIPs might be visiting in the near future.

“Other celebrities come here from time to time but, yes, that was a bit of an exception,” one local businessman said.

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By the time the princess and her entourage swept out of Battlesbridge in blacked-out limousines, most of the shelves in the antiques market were left bare, witnesses said.

Most of the items Princess Srirasmi purchased were priced between $15 and $60, local business owners said.

More on this story from NBC News' UK partner ITV News

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AP

Police officers look at a motorcycle and Ferrari that were involved in a hit-and-run accident during an investigation at Thong Lor police station in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.

BANGKOK, Thailand – Shortly before dawn on Monday in an upscale area of Bangkok, a 27-year-old Thai man driving a Ferrari crashed into a policeman on a motorcycle.  The driver dragged him more than 100 yards along the road before fleeing the scene. The policeman, 47-year-old Sgt. Maj. Wichien Glanprasert, was killed. 

The furious reaction to the incident this week has shown one thing above all: most Thais have no faith in their justice system.

‘I don’t believe in Thai justice’
The driver of the car was Vorayuth Yoovidhya, scion of one of the richest families in Thailand. His grandfather, Chaleo Yoovidhya, founded the Red Bull energy drink empire. Forbes magazine ranked the family as Thailand's fourth richest (not including the royal family) earlier this year with a net worth of $5.4 billion.  

Thais know from long experience that the wealthy are rarely held accountable for their crimes. 

Red Bull heir held over deadly hit-and-run in Ferrari

“As long as you are rich and powerful, you can get away with everything,” said 40-year-old Ubonwan Weeyanond. “I don’t believe in Thai justice, it’s only a privilege for the rich, not for poor people.” 

Vorayuth fled back to his family's compound after the accident – police followed oil streaks for several blocks to the gate of the family mansion.

Str / AFP - Getty Images

Vorayuth Yoovidhya, the 27-year-old grandson of late Red Bull founder Chaleo Yoovidhaya, during the police investigation on Monday.

The family then enlisted the help of local police official Lt. Col. Pannapon Nammuang to concoct a tale that somebody else – the family driver – had been at the wheel when the accident happened, according to Bangkok police.

But online outrage forced the police to change their tune.

Bangkok’s top police official, Lt. Gen. Comronwit Toopgrajank sidelined Pannapon (who denied wrongdoing, but admitted knowing the family well) and declared he would bring the culprit to justice.

"We will not let this police officer die without justice. Believe me," Comronwit said Tuesday. "The truth will prevail in this case. I can guarantee it."

Vorayuth was charged with causing death by reckless driving and escaping arrest by police, but was released on $16,000 bail Tuesday.

Comronwit said that Pannapon, the officer who allegedly tried to cover up the crime, could be fired and brought up on criminal charges, according to a Bangkok Post report on Wednesday.

‘Do they think people are stupid?’
Still, Thais remain skeptical that the wealthy young man will see the inside of a prison cell.

“Thai police often make someone a scapegoat.  They should not cover up the case because how many people in this country have a Ferrari?” said Varattaya Intarakong, a 38-year-old business owner. “Do they think people are stupid? But I believe that this guy will not be jailed.”

This wouldn’t be the first time the child of a wealthy and influential Thai person got off without punishment after committing a crime.

In a notorious case in December 2010, a 16-year-old girl driving a Honda Civic without a license collided with a passenger van that spun out of control. Nine people were killed in the crash. But the girl who caused the crash came from a privileged family and received only a two-year suspended sentence. 

‘Teach him how to be responsible’
Vorayuth's case has generated particular anger because he failed to stop to help the policeman, and tried to get a member of his family's staff to take the blame instead.

Several Thais commented online that people who try to shift the blame onto a scapegoat should not be granted bail.

The dead policeman's brother, Pornanand Glanprasert, said he's particularly bitter about Vorayuth's failure to stop and help.

“I can't accept how the driver hit my brother and sped away. If he hit him and got out of the car immediately, my brother might have survived,” said Pornanand. “When I realized that he’s a son of well-known people, I want his family to teach him how to be responsible, not run away like this.”

‘Double standards’
The issue of "double standards" for the wealthy and privileged is highly politically charged in Thailand. Many Thais argue that the courts sell justice to the highest bidder, and the tattered reputation of Thailand's judiciary has sunk even lower in recent years due to several clumsy political interventions by the courts. 

But the prospects for things to improve appear dim. The current Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubumrung was himself involved in an infamous case a decade ago when several witnesses saw his son, Duang Yubumrung, murder a policeman in a nightclub with a pistol.

Duang went on the run for months, the family invented a mysterious scapegoat who they claimed was actually to blame, and witnesses began changing their testimony -- suddenly declaring that perhaps Duang was not the shooter after all.

When he came out of hiding, Duang was cleared of murder, and despite widespread public revulsion, the distasteful saga did not damage his father's political career.

Ferraris and fiery crashes around Asia
Monday's incident is just the latest in a series of Ferrari crashes in Asia that have exposed national political divisions.

In Singapore, where many residents are concerned about the level of immigration, particularly from mainland China, there was widespread outrage over an accident in May. A wealthy Chinese man crashed his Ferrari at high speed into a taxi, killing himself, the taxi driver and a Japanese woman who was a passenger in the taxi. 

And in China an explosive story concerning another Ferrari crash is creating a political storm in Beijing.

The South China Morning Post reported this week that a Ferrari crash in March -- which was swiftly covered up -- killed Ling Gu, the 23-year-old son of one of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s most trusted aides, Ling Jihua.  

The younger Ling was allegedly driving recklessly with two semi-naked girls when the crash happened, leaving one of them paralyzed, according the newspaper.

The newspaper says his father's political career was damaged by his attempts to cover up the crash. Perhaps it’s a sign that even China's powerful have less impunity than Thailand's wealthy.

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EPA

Police officers in Bangkok, Thailand, inspect a Ferrari owned by Vorayuth Yoovidhya, a grandson of the creator of the Red Bull energy drink, on Monday. Police allege the vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run incident that killed a police officer.

BANGKOK -- A grandson of the creator of the Red Bull energy drink has been arrested for driving a Ferrari that struck a police officer and dragged his dead body down a Bangkok street in an early-morning hit-and-run, police said Monday.

Police took Vorayuth Yoovidhya, 27, for questioning after tracing oil streaks for several blocks to his family's gated estate in a wealthy neighborhood of the Thai capital.

He was facing charges of causing death by reckless driving and escaping an arrest by police but was released on a 500,000 baht ($15,900) bail.

Vorayuth admitted he drove the charcoal gray sports car but said the police officer's motorcycle abruptly cut in front of his vehicle, said police Maj. Gen. Anuchai Lekbamroong, the lead investigator in the case.

Attempt at cover up alleged
Bangkok's top police official, Lt. Gen. Comronwit Toopgrajank, said he took charge of the investigation after a lower-ranking policeman initially tried to cover up the crime by turning in a bogus suspect.

Comronwit himself led a team of officers to search the compound of late Red Bull founder Chaleo Yoovidhaya, one of Thailand's wealthiest men before he passed away this year, and confiscated a Ferrari with a badly damaged front bumper and broken windshield.

The victim, Sgt. Maj. Wichean Glanprasert, 47, was killed during a motorcycle patrol before dawn. Thai media reported that the car dragged the officer and his motorcycle for several dozen yards as it sped through the residential neighborhood.

Comronwit said he suspended the police officer who attempted to subvert the investigation.

"A policeman is dead. I can't let this stand. If I let this case get away, I'd rather quit," he told reporters. "I don't care how powerful they are. If I can't get the actual man in this case, I will resign."

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Family wealth
Vorayuth did not speak to the media but the family lawyer said the family will be take responsibility for the damages.

AP

Vorayuth Yoovidhya, a grandson of late Red Bull founder Chaleo Yoovidhaya, is taken into custody by police in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday over suspicion of his involvement in a deadly hit-and-run incident.

The Yoovidhaya family was ranked the 4th richest in Thailand this year by Forbes magazine, with a net worth of $5.4 billion. Red Bull creator Chaleo Yoovidhaya died in his 80s in March, leaving his heirs a wide range of businesses, including shares in the globally popular energy drink brand, hospitals and real estate.

The family also co-owns the sole authorized importer of Ferrari cars in Thailand.

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Narong Sangnak / EPA, file

A Thai-born US citizen Joe Gordon, 55, looks on from inside a cell at the criminal court, in Bangkok, Thailand, 08 December 2011.

A US citizen sentenced to two-and-half years in prison for defaming Thailand's royal family was pardoned and released from jail late Tuesday, US Embassy officials told NBC News.

Thai-born Joe Gordon was convicted in December for translating excerpts of a banned biography of Thailand’s King Bhumibol – the latest in a series of severe sentences imposed for defaming the country’s monarchy.

The 55-year-old, formerly a used car salesman in Colorado, was sentenced to two and a half years for breaking the country’s "lese majeste" laws, which make it illegal to insult the king, queen or crown prince - a highly sensitive issue in a country where 84-year-old king is regarded as semi-divine. 

American jailed in Thailand for insulting monarchy to be released?

Successive governments have ignored international calls to reform the laws, which critics argue is abused to discredit activists and politicians opposed to the royalist establishment. 

No reason for the pardon was immediately given. An update on Gordon’s campaign website said: “Free at last, free at last!  Thank God almighty, Joe is free at last! After over 13 months, Joe Gordon's ordeal is over.”

A U.S. embassy official in Thailand confirmed Gordon’s release to NBC News.

The BBC reported that Washington has pressed Thai authorities to release him since he was arrested in May 2011. The report said an editor of a political website was given an eight-month suspended sentence in May for failing to remove comments deemed insulting to the monarchy.

Alastair Jamieson, msnbc.com, contributed to this report.

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Yoshika Horita / Bec-tero Entert / EPA

Lady Gaga performs in Bangkok on May 26, 2012. You can see a small glimpse of the Thai flag on the back of her motorcycle that offended some Thais.

BANGKOK, Thailand – She’s an unlikely national ambassador, but to understand the complexities of U.S. relations with the emerging economies of Southeast Asia, it can be revealing to ask what people think of Lady Gaga.

Last month, the American superstar's world tour brought her through Thailand and other countries in the region, which has long held huge geopolitical significance for U.S. policymakers and is now the focus of intense diplomatic and economic rivalry as the U.S. faces a rising China determined to stake its place as a global superpower.

A special NBC News series: What The World Thinks of U.S. Click here for more information

While Thailand is a place that seems – on the surface at least – to have an anything-goes attitude ideally suited to the outrageous and controversial Gaga, appearances can be deceptive. Despite its notorious nightlife and sex shows, Thailand is very conservative in many ways, and the concept of "saving face" is important. Even if embarrassing issues are obvious, discussing them openly is frowned upon. 

'Inappropriate' behavior
For instance, two days ahead of her sold-out Bangkok concert, Gaga fell afoul of many Thais when she sent a light-hearted tweet saying: "I just landed in Bangkok baby! Ready for 50,000 screaming Thai monsters. I wanna get lost in a lady market and buy a fake Rolex."

---

It’s no secret that fake Rolexes are openly displayed and sold in Bangkok's infamous Patpong area, where sex is also for sale in dozens of go-go bars. But Thais don't like foreigners talking about such activities, and Gaga's comment caused a storm of protest.

"We are more civilized than you think," tweeted Thai DJ Surahit Siamwalla in response, announcing that he planned to boycott the concert.

Some Thais also took offense when Gaga appeared on stage during one of her concerts scantily dressed and sitting on a motorcycle with a Thai flag trailing behind her. The Culture Ministry made an official complaint that this use of the flag was "inappropriate and hurt Thai people's sentiment.”

The spat is indicative of a growing unease among traditional Thais over what they see as foreign influences corrupting the country. It is somewhat surprising, because for decades the country's conservative elite was strongly pro-American, in part because the Thai ruling class was desperate to prevent the spread of Communism, and embraced America's assistance.

Rungroj Yongrit / EPA

Thai fans of Lady Gaga pose for a photograph prior to a concert of U.S. pop star Lady Gaga at Rajamangala stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, May 25, 2012.

Recently, however, the conservative Thai establishment has grown increasingly hostile to the "Western" values symbolized by America, partly in response to growing pressure from ordinary people for greater democracy and freedom of speech.

One flashpoint in this debate was the treatment of a U.S. citizen arrested last year for circulating a partial translation of a book by an American author that took a critical look at the Thai royal family. Joe Gordon, who was born in Thailand but emigrated and became a car salesman in Colorado, was sentenced to two and a half years in jail last December for breaking the “lèse majesté” law that forbids criticism of the monarchy. 

The United States found itself dragged into the debate, with hundreds of royalists protesting outside the U.S. embassy in Bangkok after American diplomats criticized the jailing of Gordon and called for greater freedom of speech.

One of them was Tul Sitthisomwong, a leader of the royalist United Siam group.

NBC News

Jiraporn Prasert, an office employee in Bangkok who attended the Lady Gaga concert.

“We feel annoyed,” he said during a recent interview. “We know that America focuses on human rights and freedom of people, but “lèse majesté” in Thailand ... is not about human rights, it's about breaking the law.”

Tul said that the U.S. is meddling in other countries to try to maintain its waning influence. "They are like big brother, but right now they're weaker and getting sick but they try to be strong." 

He also said that there might be a hidden agenda in the U.S. request to use Thailand’s U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield for its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

“After the mission in the Middle East, they are coming back to this region, Southeast Asia. It likes confronting China – so I think America would like to have a powerful [base] again in this region. So they pick up Thailand,” he said.

It doesn't help that America is also widely seen as arrogant. “They are the best, that's what they always think, that they are the best,” Juthamas Carranco, who works in a Bangkok hotel, said.

'A good example' for Thailand
But to many younger Southeast Asians, modernity is nothing to fear, and tolerance is a virtue. America produces movies and music that they love, and represents freedom from religious and cultural restrictions.

“America is a good example for Thailand – especially the education system, work ethic and the freedom,” said Amorn Wanichwiwatana, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

NBC News speaks with citizens from around the globe, asking the question, 'What Does America Mean to You?'

“Lady Gaga is an artist, and I want Thais to look at her like that,” he added. “When she performed in the concert with Thai flag, I don't think she had a bad intention. I feel she even respected our culture.”

Jiraporn Prasert, an office worker who attended the Gaga concert in Bangkok, also didn’t believe the singer was being deliberately offensive to Thais.

“I like Lady Gaga very much,” said Jiraporn. “About the problem that we are having with her, I want people to look at her from different angles. I would like them to look at what cause the issue. Is it really from Gaga or because of things surround her?”

When Lady Gaga performed in Bangkok, I was also one of the 50,000 people who watched her perform, and whatever controversies she may have caused around the region, there was no doubt about one thing: she rocked the arena and the audience loved it.

This story is part of a series by msnbc.com and NBC News "What the World Thinks of US". The series aims to check the pulse on current perceptions of America's global stature during the election year and ahead of our annual Independence Day.

Share your thoughts about this story and our series on Twitter using #AmericaMeans 

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