In wake of the various scandals over the past several months, implicating policemen from non-commissioned officers up to generals for involvement in Chinese grey businesses, some people may wonder where the good cops have gone. Or are there good cops in the Thai police force that people can trust?
We are often told there are good and bad people in society, in every profession, and that the bad people are in the minority. Well, such a statement may partially correct as far as the police are concerned.
The number of "bad apples" in the police force as exposed by Chuvit Kamolvisit, former massage parlor tycoon turned politician and now a whistle-blower on police corruption, may be small compared to the total force of 200,000. But who knows, the alleged misconduct cases which have been making headlines in social media may be just the tip of the iceberg.
There may be countless more cases of malpractice involving the police that are yet to be exposed or may not be exposed. Mr Chuvit alone will not be able to blow the whistle on everything no matter how determined he is to perform this courageous but risky endeavour.
The raid on the Jin Ling pub in Yannawa district on Oct 26 last year and alleged police mishandling of the case which eventually led to the arrest of Chinese businessman Chaiyanat Kornchayanant, aka Tuhao, was an eye-opener on the extent of grey Chinese businesses in Thailand. They involve narcotics trafficking, money laundering and online gambling operations, as well as connections to high-level politicians and police.
Tuhao was reported to have donated three million baht to the Palang Pracharath Party some time ago and he was married to a police colonel, attached to Thai Interpol, and a nephew of former national police chief, Pol Gen Pracha Promnok, a former minister under the Yingluck Shinawatra administration.
From Mr Tuhao's case, claims emerged of dozens of immigration police accused of extending visas for Chinese businessmen to stay longer in Thailand. Hundreds of officers have been investigated and, according to Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the national deputy police chief, 27 found to have received ill-gotten gains from the Chinese.
Mr Chuvit also exposed the case of a police officer, known as Inspector Sua, reported to have stakes in more than 20 companies which, he alleged, are a front for laundering money generated from online gambling operations.
The big question is how this officer could spend so much of his time abroad instead of doing his job at home without the knowledge of his boss? Or did his boss simply look the other way because of the scent of money?
A few other police scandals have emerged, such as the one involving two traffic police and two tourist police providing a car escort service to Chinese tourists, traveling from the airport to their Bangkok hotels.
Another concerns a group of Huai Khwang police extorting 27,000 baht from a Taiwanese actress in exchange for dropping a charge of her possessing an e-cigarette. Both cases cast a bad light on the already tainted image of Thai police.
All these scandals testify to the rotten state of the police force and the need for major reforms which are long overdue.
As a matter of fact, police reform is mandated in the constitution to be implemented within a year. But for some inexplicable reason, the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha paid mere lip service to reform. Six committees were set up to consider reform. During the past year, all failed as they cannot even agree how to start.
Police reform is easier said than done because the force has become a huge centralised organisation. Major reform conducted in one go will affect many police and may spark protests; a weak government would be reluctant to stir such a hornet's nest.
It remains to be seen whether the new government will have the stomach to carry out the changes, perhaps choosing gradual reform as a compromise approach.
The other alternative is for whistleblowers like Mr Chuvit to carry on exposing ills in the force. And his job is appreciated, although it will not result in major reforms.
However, he deserves kudos for his courageous conduct. Rangsit University has decided to grant him the "Suriyathep" award in recognition of his courage in exposing the truth about police corruption, to be presented on Wednesday at the university.
As for the good cops, if they cannot speak up about the rot in their own ranks for fear of reprisals, they can at least help protect their organisation by providing information to Mr Chuvit to do the whistle-blowing.
Veera Prateepchaikul is former editor, Bangkok Post.
