In Thailand, ‘elephant ticket’ trends on Twitter amid talk of police corruption as PM Prayuth survives no-confidence vote
- An opposition lawmaker revealed a list of officers who allegedly gained promotions bypassing official selection process during a parliamentary debate
- The premier survived a no-confidence vote on Saturday after four days of arguments as protests calling for the government to resign continue
A list of Thai police officers who allegedly vaulted up the ranks of seniority has gone viral after an opposition lawmaker revealed it during the four-day debate on a no-confidence motion against the army-aligned administration of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
Move Forward Party’s Rangsiman Rome, who accused the administration of Prayuth and his deputy Prawit Wongsuwon of promoting a culture of patronage and cronyism inside the force, presented the so-called “Tua Chang” – or elephant ticket – list during the discussion on Friday.
The document from 2019 alleged that 16 police officers rose through the ranks bypassing the arduous official selection process.
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“This might be the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done as an MP, but I must proceed because the people have elected me to represent them,” Rangsiman told the chamber.
“Let me ask you General Prayuth whether you’re aware that such corrupt practices were taking place? Or perhaps you are just protecting your network.”
The fast-tracking of individuals, “demotivates police officers … who want to work hard and be rewarded but without any connections … end up with no place to stand in their unit,” he added.
Thailand’s estimated 230,000-strong police force is a key player in the kingdom’s power games.
Commanders travel in large entourages when visiting crime scenes and attract blanket media attention as they stamp their authority on high-profile cases – mostly when the culprit is caught.
Prayuth’s government has moved to blunt the influence of the force since a 2014 coup, with a series of reshuffles and bureaucratic shake-ups. The officers are now tucked under the control of the powerful ex-army chief Prawit.
Faced with the accusations, Prawit, who is notoriously aloof to his critics, stood up for one of the few times in the four-day debate to say “none of it [the allegations] are true, thank you” before walking out.
But lawmaker Rangsiman’s revelation reverberated on social media as Thais reacted to the murky workings of the police. Hundreds of thousands of tweets with the hashtags #elephantticket and #policeticket dominated Twitter on Saturday.
“This is all the police without ‘tickets’ will ever be,” said a user, who tweeted a video clip of riot police marching under a hot sun near the parliament on Friday.
Among the names on the list was Chanan Chaijinda, son of the recently-retired commissioner Chakthip Chaijinda. He was promoted to a commander in a border police unit after serving three years as a deputy inspector. It takes around seven years to attain that rank.
Prawit defended the legality of Chanan’s promotion at the time by snapping back at reporters asking about the perceived nepotism, saying “do you love your son?”
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There was no official comment from police on the “elephant ticket” allegations.
Paul Chambers, Special Adviser on International Affairs at the Centre of Asean Community Studies, Naresuan University, said a “deeply entrenched patronage system” undergirds Thailand’s police and military.
“There is profit connecting bureaucrats to businesspeople underlying this patronage system. This patronage system bestows security force influence in support of monarchy but draws from monarchical endorsement as well,” he said.
A demonstrator said the “elephant ticket” saga showed the police were not working for the people, but were controlled by “big power”.
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Shadowy businesses from drug and people trafficking to illegal gambling dens are often found to have police links. But when corrupt officers get exposed, they are moved to “inactive” posts rather than sacked or prosecuted.
Last December, the chief of Rayong provincial police was transferred after Covid-19 clusters emerged at illegal casinos operating under his jurisdiction.
Political observers have pointed to how previously unfancied officers advanced in their careers under Prawit’s watch.
Among the most-talked about was Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, whose hyper-speed rise to immigration chief saw him tipped for a run at the commissioner’s job.
But Surachate’s ambitions ran aground in 2019 after he alleged corruption in the procurement of a US$65 million biometric system by the Royal Thai Police. Soon after, his car came under gunfire in a Bangkok street.
Surachat was abruptly transferred from his job and then swiftly left for India for a stint as a monk.
