The "pass the buck" attitude of the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) in handling the hit-and-run case involving Red Bull scion Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya comes as no surprise at all to anyone.
On Dec 9, OAG deputy spokesman Prayuth Petch-khun insisted public prosecutors cannot proceed with the indictment of Mr Vorayuth on drug charges until police actually arrest him and bring him to trial.
The prosecutors are "duty-bound" to wait, he said.
Technically, the deputy spokesman is not entirely wrong as arrests are the duty of the police. Yet such a passive statement is a disappointment. There are no signs that police can get hold of the runaway brat, who vanished from Bangkok in 2012 but keeps appearing in many places around the world, any time soon.
The OAG's lacklustre response is a reminder of how the pursuit of justice -- as instructed earlier this year by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha -- in this crime which claimed the life of police officer Wichian Klanprasert still has a long way to go.
The OAG is under criticism for allowing Mr Vora-yuth to exploit a technicality to drag out the probe by submitting a petition seeking fair treatment more than six times. In fact, both the prosecutors and police face "a crisis of faith" over their handling of the case.
The last straw came when Nate Naksuk, then deputy attorney-general, decided to drop the reckless driving charge against Mr Vorayuth. The outrageous decision triggered public fury.
Gen Prayut finally appointed former member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Vicha Mahakun to lead an independent panel to look into the irregularities. Gen Prayut vowed that justice would be done in this case.
In early September, the panel's report recommended the government revive the case, as it found evidence of intervention by government officials, law enforcement agencies, public prosecutors, lawyers and witnesses. It's a pity the Vicha report has not been made public.
Due to the government's intervention, the OAG made a U-turn, deciding to indict Mr Vorayuth on two charges -- reckless driving causing death, and cocaine use -- citing fresh evidence and new witnesses.
Only Mr Nate, who has been appointed senior prosecutor at the OAG's Phra Khanong office, faces a disciplinary probe for his shameful decision to allow the wealthy man off the hook. But the investigation is continuing at a snail's pace.
Apart from that, it's just business as usual, both at the OAG and the Royal Thai Police as seasonal promotions have been made in the past month and there are no signs that any wrongdoers will be held to account. It seems the two agencies are aware that public attention has faded in the wake of the political strife, so they have gone into inactive mode again.
Even the National Anti-Corruption Commission says it is still examining the Vicha-led panel's report. The graft-busting agency has started working with the Anti-Money Laundering Office to determine if there had been payments made to people linked to the mishandling of the Red Bull scion case.
The slow pace raises solid suspicions of whether someone might be trying to pull a fast one and possibly whitewash all the culprits. They should realise that any such action will only backfire.