Is Thailand's police chief Somyot Poompan-moung a graft-buster or hatchet man?
While Somyot Poompan-moung vows reforms, critics say he is in the pocket of the ruling junta
Thailand's top cop says his task is to revive trust in a graft-tainted force, but observers believe his real brief is to be a hatchet man for a junta trying to tame the police - and their patron, billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
"Political parties interfere with the police, and some police officers have served politicians in the hope of progressing," said Police General Somyot Poompan-moung, who was appointed police commissioner by junta-leader Prayuth Chan-ocha.
Somyot, who declares his assets at more than US$11.5 million, including income from advising companies as well as property holdings and investments, has vowed to transfer, arrest or prosecute all graft-tainted officers.
True to his word, he has nailed several senior policemen, including the head of Thailand's elite Central Investigation Bureau, jailed with his deputy in January for defaming the royal family while running a criminal empire from inside the police force.
"My aim is to improve the public's feeling towards the police," Somyot says.
But analysts say Somyot's focus is to do the bidding of an army that craves control of the police and, by extension, the Shinawatras - a family whose pro-poor policies won them every Thai election since 2001, along with the hatred of many of the Bangkok elite.