Deputy police spokesman, Kissana Phathanacharoen, made a slip of the tongue when talking to the media about the case of Pol Cpl Kornsasi Buayaem, who is accused of abusing her maid, a former army soldier.
"I wish society would look at this case as a personal matter. It has nothing to do with the national police office recruiting her," Pol Col Kissana said.
But the case is everything but a personal matter. Indeed, it is a matter of grave concern for the Royal Thai Police (RTP) that it offered a permanent job to the suspect in 2017, despite her being 39, which exceeded the age limit of 35.
"The RTP seriously lacks accountants, so we needed to make an exception in her case," the deputy police spokesman said.
It is also a matter of concern that the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) transferred Pol Cpl Kornsasi to work at an ISOC unit covering the restive southern provinces -- and paid her allowances and perks despite the fact she did not actully move to one of the dangerous provinces.
Hopefully, the case will become a matter of concern for the Senate too because Pol Cpl Kornsasi is reported to be a personal assistant to a junta-appointed senator -- which means that she might also get an additional monthly allowance provided to assistants of senators.
Hopefully, the Upper House will come out to clear the air over the suspect's senatorial role. It is also a matter of concern for the Royal Thai Army which offered a soldier's position to the maid, and permitted her to work at Pol Cpl Kornsasi's house.
Pol Cpl Kornsasi, now 43, was charged by police with dereliction of duty, intimidation, deprivation of liberty, physical abuse and human trafficking. The suspect claims she suffers from mental problems that cause her to lose her temper and control of her emotions.
But the physical abuse is just the tip of the iceberg. The case blatantly displays the abuse of power and nepotism that underscores recruitment and promotion decisions in Thai government agencies.
Pol Cpl Kornsasi is quoted as confessing to a police investigator that she secured her job at the RTP in 2017 with the help of a phu yai -- a senior figure.
The background of the maid is no less bewildering. Before getting the job in the army, she worked at a coffee shop owned by Pol Cpl Kornsasi who later arranged for her to be given the soldier's position.
As a soldier, the maid was allowed to return to her boss' house and gave most of her monthly salary to Pol Cpl Kornsasi in exchange for getting her the army position. The maid later quit her job in the army as ordered by Pol Cpl Kornsasi.
The case would be more entertaining if it were fiction or a TV series. Sadly, it is not.
Needless to say, the RTP, the army and ISOC owe the public answers about who provided jobs for the suspect and the maid. These agencies need to launch probes to find out who is behind the saga, including the identity of the phu yai behind the scenes. The RTP's spokesman Kissana could not be more wrong.
The case is not a personal matter between a mentally unstable boss and her unfaithful maid. It is a public matter and concerns taxpayer's money in a vicious cycle of nepotism.
