Media organisations and academics, as well as anti-corruption advocacy groups, went full throttle against embattled news anchor Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda and Channel 3 last week. Meanwhile, the whistle-blowing by Adm Phajun Tamprateep, a former close aide to Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda, that revealed an unidentified general was involved in the "sale" of police positions ahead of the annual police reshuffle went largely unnoticed by the media.
The media engine sputtered. There were no calls for the Royal Thai Police (RTP) to investigate the allegation as it should have, considering the credibility of the whistle-blower who just happens to be the vice chairman of the corruption panel of the National Reform Steering Assembly. Or, at the very least he should be given some kind of moral support. The chief of the police force should have welcomed the revelation and immediately ordered a probe to find out the truth.
Instead, national police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda found Adm Phajun's somewhat incomplete exposure of the alleged corruption and the alleged involvement of a general -- posted in a message on his Line page -- offensive and tarnishing of the image of the force.
"My organisation has dignity. Nobody can make empty allegations," the police chief was quoted as saying. He then went on to avow in no uncertain terms that legal action must be taken against the whistle-blower.
Jumping to the side of Adm Phajun is former Democrat MP Charnchai Issarasenarak who said if anyone would like to know more about the alleged under-the-table payments, they should direct their questions to former police chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon.
Mr Charnchai must now be waiting to see whether, more likely when, charges will be filed against him by the police.
Violation of the computer crime law is the first charge to be lodged against Adm Phajun, and that was to be followed by a defamation charge. Pol Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul, the deputy police chief, was assigned to oversee the case.
But the admiral appeared unperturbed by this, and he is scheduled to meet the police this week to answer the charge against him.
Personally, I don't know whether the admiral's accusation is true, but I admire his courage -- or foolhardiness, if you prefer -- for bothering to go to the trouble of commenting on the goings-on at national police headquarters, which many of us would simply treat as "business as usual".
"Why bother? Police officers themselves are not going to!" That might seem to be the standard response among most of us, reflecting our lax attitude or indifference to corruption within the police ranks which Pol Gen Chakthip claims are dignified and must not be attacked with empty allegations.
But if you were to ask your neighbour, a taxi driver, your favourite barman or a noodle seller on the street what they thought about the police chief's response to the accusation, you would probably get a totally different reaction.
As far as Adm Phajun's Line message is concerned, I believe most legal scholars and even law students would agree the police have a weak case against him. The talk about the "sale" of positions, which the police consider offensive to their organisation, is common knowledge. It is unlikely to hurt police "dignity" because none of us knows whether it actually exists or not.
So why silence the whistle-blower? Why not let him talk further so he might help to clean up the police's image? Are the police actually protecting someone? And last but not least, is there trouble brewing under the surface?
With the situation getting messy, fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra can afford to sit back and relax without talking to the foreign media. Who knows, he may get the last laugh?
Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Bangkok Post.