No sooner had Puea Chat spokeswoman Ketpreeya Kaewsanmuang raised the issue of high taxes on tampons than she was in trouble. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Digital Economy and Society Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta, seized by anger, lambasted her information as "fake news" and vowed legal action, but stopped short of attempting to make any actual sense of the matter.
It is understood that the media which picked up the issue and academics who offered viewpoints over the controversy are to be punished.
In countering Ms Ketpreeya's 40% luxury tax theory, the government insisted that tampons and sanitary pads are subject only to 7% value-added tax.
However, Ms Ketpreeya stood by her claim and denied she had a hidden motive to attack the government. The MP cited an April 17, 2018 cabinet resolution on a draft law stating that tampons are cosmetic products. Putting the product in that category risks it being reclassified in terms of its tax status, she said.
It's unfortunate the government has no intention to clarify the executive decree cited by the MP. Instead, it paid attention to just one aspect: whether the controversy is "fake news".
"Whoever creates fake news must face legal action," Gen Prayut told the media, while Mr Buddhipongse insisted that a summons would be issued.
Their response to Ms Ketpreeya's complaint is nothing if not an overreaction. And it is also a waste of everyone's time.
Gen Prayut and his administration should not be so complacent with their dismissal of the significance of a 7% value-added tax on the product.
Instead, they should know the current price structure makes the product expensive in comparison with daily wages and do more to help those in need -- in particular, low-income earners and their families, and vulnerable groups like female inmates, most of whom are from poor families.
Earlier in March, an article on the 101.world website cited the bitter experience of one young woman who had to skip meals so she could afford sanitary pads. The story created a sensation and chimed with many women who face similar hardship.
Menstruation and sanitary pads may be a small issue for the Prayut government, which is male-dominated, but to at least half of the rest of us, it is not.
A number of girls and women find the products too expensive but have no means to speak out about the issue.
If the Prayut government has no idea how to go about this important matter, some foreign governments have already shown the way.
In India, the Narendra Modi government last year decided to remove sanitary pads from the luxury goods category, and subsequently scrapped the 12% tax, following a fierce campaign by activists who found that a number of young girls who could not afford the products had to miss school.
There are reports that the British government earlier this year started to allocate budget to fund free sanitary products for school and college students across England.
The decision followed a study in 2017 which found some schoolgirls in Leeds reportedly had to miss school for a week each month because they could not afford sanitary products.
A 2018 report by the BBC which covered the Indian success story also mentioned findings by charity Plan International UK that one in 10 disadvantaged girls below the age of 21 cannot afford sanitary products.
In another development, the Scottish government said on its website, gov.scot, in September this year that more than eight million free sanitary products were provided to school, college and university students across Scotland in the first six months of a five-million-pound scheme.
Good examples are plenty and it's necessary the government know that complacency has blinded it to the real issue which means a large number of girls are suffering in silence and may have to miss school during their period.
Instead of slapping a threat on those who speak up, the Prayut government should map out tax as well as price control measures that could make the products more affordable.
It should also clarify whether the products are categorised as "cosmetics" and make any necessary amendments to correct such an inaccuracy.
Another idea would be to give grants and assistance to community-based entrepreneurs interested in producing cheaper generic sanitary pads so that women on lower incomes can afford them.
Free sanitary pads at schools, hospitals and prisons would also be a humane undertaking.
The government can do this step by step. The most important thing is, it must begin those steps now.