News that Nate Naksuk recently applied to be a member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has created public concern.
The reason being -- the 67-year-old senior public prosecutor faces a serious disciplinary probe over his role in the notorious hit-and-run case involving a member of the wealthy Yoovidhya clan.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) last October established its investigations into Mr Nate's decision not to indict Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya who hit and killed a police officer while driving a Ferrari in 2012.
The probe is similarly investigating another public prosecutor, implicated in a report by a fact-finding panel under Vicha Mahakun.
The panel further alleged that a group of police officers, some senior, of attempting to whitewash what occurred in favour of the suspect with doctored evidence surrounding the car's speed at the time of the crash and also false witnesses.
These hamfisted attempts irked the public so much that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha felt he had to intervene.
The Vicha panel submitted its findings, which is said to be comprehensive, to the prime minister in 2020 and the public regained some hope that the issue would be properly dealt with.
However, there has been little, if any progress on the part of the two agencies at the centre of controversy since then. Instead, they have employed delay tactics by forming new investigation panels one after another to handle the allegations.
The OAG, in particular, made headlines in March last year when it formed four task forces to promote the agency's public relations campaigns, which turned out, unsurprisingly, to be a waste.
The latest development of Mr Nate seeking to be a member of the graft buster agency reminds the public of how the case has stalled for far too long while charges against Vorayuth creep towards the statute of limitations. In September, a charge surrounding his cocaine use expires while his reckless driving charge will expire in 2027.
The OAG already drew criticism early last year when it proposed Mr Nate, together with another senior prosecutor also under investigation over other matters, for royal endorsement for a new position. Forwarding officials under investigation to the palace is unprecedented and the names were eventually dropped.
Worse still, as previously reported, the Royal Thai Police (RTP) tried to challenge the Vicha panel findings, with a claim that an audio clip in which senior officers discussed ways to distort evidence in favour of Vorayuth was null and void, alleging that the clip was unlawfully acquired. Mr Vicha countered back, maintaining the clip's legality.
With his NACC application, Mr Nate is back in the limelight, and so is the OAG and its past deeds in this notorious hit-and-run case. The OAG is meant to complete its probe against Mr Nate mid this month but his NACC application gives the appearance that he has a certain level of confidence in the probe's findings.
Almost 10 years since the fatal crash, it's becoming clear the Thai authorities can't catch the fugitive who's living a lavish life abroad and bring him back to Thailand to face justice. Gen Prayut conceded in the past that while he wanted to see progress in the case, tracking down a fugitive in a foreign country is not the OAG's responsibility.
But at least those involved in white-washing attempts, as implicated in the Vicha panel's report, need to take accountability for their actions.