Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, deputy prime minister in charge of security affairs, took sick leave for about two weeks in mid-May. But it seems he has been away in the twilight zone for much longer, as he is totally in the dark about how some "lucrative" posts in the police force are traded.
The deputy prime minister stands among a minority of people in this land who have complete trust and confidence in the police and who do not believe that the shameful practice of buying and selling "lucrative" posts exists in the police force -- especially not in the force now under his command.
"No way. Show me the people [who paid to buy posts] to back up the accusation," he told the media when asked about the malpractice exposed by former Democrat MP Wittaya Kaewparadai who is also a key member of the anti-Thaksin People's Democratic Reform Committee.
Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Bangkok Post.
That utterance "Show me the people!" from Gen Prawit reminds me of the famous quote from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra: "Show me the receipt!" when he was asked by reporters about corruption in his administration over a decade ago.
Two different men in power from two different eras who, coincidentally enough, share the same annoying mindset, the same professed ignorance of an age-old problem that most of us are fully aware of and have to bear in disgust.
I wonder will there be any foolhardy police officer who will present himself to Gen Prawit to confess that he did pay to buy a police post.
Or any police officer who will proudly declare before the prime minister that he pocketed millions of baht from selling posts.
Trading in "lucrative" posts in the police force is a cancer in the Royal Thai Police which has been around for decades.
I have no idea how and when it started, but assume it began when some crooks in the force realised they could make money -- and a lot of it too -- from posts such as superintendent, deputy superintendent and chief inspector during the annual police reshuffle.
We barely heard any complaints about this malpractice because the buyers and sellers as well as the brokers, who are mostly the wives of the police, were all happy with the arrangement.
The buyers got the post they sought while the sellers and the brokers got the money.
No receipts or cheques; cash only, please.
The only time that complaints were heard was normally from the buyers when they were cheated. They may have failed to get promoted to the posts they had demanded, and then failed to get a refund.
Money talks in this dirty business. There is no friendship, no classmate brotherhood like in the military where friends help friends to climb up the ladder. It is purely business.
But this shameful practice is unfair and demoralising to the honest and hardworking police who often miss out.
Lucrative posts are positions in the precincts where crooked police can easily make quick money to recoup their investments.
The price of posts differs depending on the location of the precinct.
A police post such as a superintendent in any of the three southernmost provinces, for example, has no commercial value.
Most police will refuse to accept a post there, because there is no fast money to be made but high risk from the militants.
In Bangkok, areas such as Silom, Patpong, and Ratchadapisek with their many nightspots, or busy Chinatown, are regarded as Grade A areas where a superintendent's post can fetch a price of between 10-15 million baht. Other Grade A areas include Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.
So how can a police officer who paid 10-15 million baht to get a superintendent's post recoup his investment within one or two years?
They have to act fast because there is no guarantee their post is secure for long as there are always men who yearn for the same position and who are also willing to pay.
Demand is high and supply is limited.
One of the tricks employed to make "lucrative" posts available is to make an irresistible offer to incumbents who have a few years left in the service to retire early.
Trading in "lucrative" positions in the police force is just one dark aspect of the police.
It is a source of corruption, an unjust practice for the honest and hardworking cops.
Given the state of the problem, the naivety shown by Gen Prawit towards this age-old scandal and the open threat of a criminal defamation lawsuit by Pol Gen Chakthip Chaichinda, the national police chief, against whistle-blower Wittaya or any of his like, is disappointing to say the least.
Their negative reactions will only serve to convince the shameless traders that they are -- and will be -- protected so long as they share the spoils among the gang.
Ever wonder why every time there is an entrance examination for non-commissioned officers in a police academy, there are about 10 times the number of applicants for the seats available, and parents of the applicants are willing to spend six-digit figures from their hard-earned savings or borrow to get a seat in the academy for their children?