The people of Bangkok should be both disappointed and concerned at the latest news from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). City police chief Sanit Mahathavorn, in reporting his financial status as required, revealed he collects 50,000 baht a month in return for "advising" Thai Beverage Plc. This is disappointing because Pol Lt Gen Sanit, a top policemen, should not be moonlighting at all. It causes concern over possible conflicts of interest.
The release of the NACC revelation came in the middle of a long weekend. This timing has made the news slip the public's attention. It has also resulted in a lack of further information coming to light. As a prime example, Pol Lt Gen Sanit was unavailable over the three-day weekend to explain his strange source of income.
There are serious and career-threatening questions that must be answered in full by the police chief. The most obvious is: What does he do for the multinational alcohol seller, ThaiBev, that could possibly be worth 600,000 baht a year? This is a crucial question. One of the top duties of the Bangkok police is to enforce laws on the use and abuse of alcohol. For Pol Lt Gen Sanit to take a large, monthly envelope from ThaiBev is no different from a top policeman taking a monthly envelope from, say, a bar, massage parlour or a man who surreptitiously owns a casino.
The possible conflicts of interest between serving the public and serving his ThaiBev paymasters are obvious. "Advice" on upcoming police crackdowns on holiday beer and liquor sales would be valuable to a seller such as ThaiBev in a vertical market. Advance "advice" on upcoming regulations of pubs, bars and sellers near schools would have been worth a lot to executives of any company involved in the manufacture and sale of alcohol.
ThaiBev, of course, is a huge company and involved in many activities apart from marketing popular beer and liquor brands. Given today's masses of laws, regulations and enforcement crackdowns, advice from the city's top policeman would obviously be valuable -- even cheap at 600,000 baht a year. Pol Lt Gen Sanit has opened himself up to numerous questions, and provided answers to none.
The bottom line, however, is that the Bangkok chief has brought the police force into disrepute. This is another reason why the public is continuously losing respect for the force. It is unacceptable in today's political climate for a senior public servant to take cash from an outside, commercial firm.
Pol Lt Gen Sanit has also raised questions about his priorities. ThaiBev is an important corporate citizen and already receives protection and justice.
A hefty monthly payment to a high-ranking policeman reeks of purchasing influence. Even if Pol Lt Gen Sanit explains how he reconciles his decision to take money from the company, he cannot properly explain it to the public. He has cast distrust on his force.
The chairman of the Lawyers' Association for Rights and Environment Protection, Somchai Armin, surprisingly only called on the police chief to stop taking money from ThaiBev. This is not even a slap on the wrist. Mr Somchai is allowing the chief to keep his job and his money.
Given his record, Pol Lt Gen Sanit deserves a chance to show his spirit. If he fails to resign, however, higher authorities should act to remove the chief from his job, and from the force.
An investigation, preferably by independent outsiders, should probe every case where the current chief or any associate might have helped ThaiBev inappropriately. If even one case emerges, Pol Lt Gen Sanit will deserve only his day in court.