Yonas Tegegn is the top official of the United Nations' World Health Organisation in Thailand. He has been in Bangkok more than two years. He attends meetings assiduously and his photos dot the internet, particularly the website of the Ministry of Public Health.
Late last year he met Foreign Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn and accepted a hefty donation of five million baht from the people of Thailand.
But after all this, he and his wife stand accused of enslaving their Ethiopian domestic helper to clean their Nonthaburi home.
The charges emerged last week after the 24-year-old maid - who remains anonymous, under the pseudonym "Annet" to protect her identity - contacted a legal NGO. The NGO asked the Lawyers Council of Thailand (LCT) for help.
The council then took the maid and her case to Nonthaburi's Pak Kred police. She is staying in a safe house.
Witnesses say Annet has scars on her body which she claims were caused by beatings. She alleges her employers hit her and made her sleep outside their house with the family's dog.
She says she was given only rice to eat, her passport was confiscated and she has never been paid her promised paltry 3,000-baht a month salary.
These are serious charges by the victim. Dr Tegegn, however, said they are "baseless". "We pledged with Annet and her family when we brought her from Ethiopia to help her and take care of her. At all times we have treated her as a member of our family, with all dignity, respect and consideration," Dr Tegegn said.
The WHO says it will investigate the matter according to its internal procedures. However, human rights groups rightly emphasised the public's concern about the issue last Friday.
They called on the UN and its Thailand-based agencies to tighten legal and ethical standards and to address the diplomatic immunity issue.
The WHO has not said clearly whether immunity has been invoked. If immunity is invoked, police cannot act and investigate the allegations of the case. And if Dr Tegegn is recalled, then Annet has to leave Thailand as well.
On Thursday, the WHO said it takes the accusations seriously, though it remains a matter private to Dr Tegegn's family.
The WHO must do more than relying on internal procedures and must spell out where it stands on immunity.
Dr Tegegn himself has said no diplomatic immunity has been invoked and "we will provide all support to the investigation so the truth comes out and our name is cleared".
Police asked the Foreign Ministry about diplomatic immunity and the ministry must respond swiftly. If the WHO does not invoke diplomatic immunity for Dr Tegegn, police must move swiftly and investigate the allegations in a fair and transparent manner.
But if it is invoked, the course of justice cannot begin and the WHO's reputation will be at stake.
Dr Tegegn's lawyers said he will meet police Monday to present his side of the story. In light of the government's recent declaration of "zero tolerance" on human trafficking, all eyes are watching how the case will unfold.
Whether justice ensues depends on the WHO's decision and the Thai police's response.