Acting PM Prawit Wongsuwan – named as caretaker last week after the constitutional court suspended Prayuth Chan-ocha amid suggestions his eight year tenure had come to an end – took little time to try and reign in the Royal Thai Police.
At yesterday’s first meeting of the Police Commission – a commitee previously chaired by Prayuth – Prawit demanded action from the police to clean up their act.
The RTP – that critics say is merely a mafia organisation in brown – were told by Prawit at the meeting:
No more bribes
No inappropriate behaviour at all
No corruption in any shape or form
The RTP were to offer no favors and follow the law to the letter.
Or else.
Prawit instructed all commanders to ensure that anyone who disobeys his commands be dealt with according to disciplinary procedures and/or the law itself.
Prawit’s bark against the RTP was #5 on a list of five orders as reported after the meeting by spokesman Pol Maj-Gen Yingyot Thepjamnong.
It was no surprise that Daily News picked up on this for their headline containing the name “Big Pom” – Prawit’s nickname.
“Pom” means round or plump, as well as fortress, notes ASEAN NOW.
Prawit is well known for his penchant for overindulgence in a culinary capacity.
Other orders on Prawit’s watch as reported by Yingyot were for the RTP to get tough on drugs, illegal migrants, tech crime including call centers and online weapons’ sales and loan sharking.
Moments earlier RTP commander Pol Gen Suwat Chaengyodsuk had addressed the press.
Suwat is retiring at the end of September and the meeting was being held to rubber stamp choices for his successor and in total confirm the selection of 254 senior officers who will take up positions at the start of October.
This is the period of the annual reshuffle.
Suwat refused to be drawn on who his successor will be telling the press that there were various legal reasons why they would have to wait.
The law is the law and the RTP have to follow that, he suggested hopefully.
The new chief of the Thai police – reportedly already selected by Prayuth – will be the 13th.
The Thai public will be hoping that number is not unlucky but might herald some change in the activities of their police force.
But no one will be holding their breath.