We seldom find ourselves in agreement with yellow-tinged, pretentious academics like the recently formed group calling itself Academics for Society, with the report only naming one member of the “group.” Such groups usually form around the times of political crisis or elections, and offer self-righteous “advice” to politicians, parties, and voters, very little of it being the kind of independent analysis worthy of real academics.
In this instance, however, we can’t help but agree with one of their observations, even if they remain stuck in Thai-style democracy notions of the country needing “good” and “moral” people at the helm.
The group, said to be led by Vicha Mahakun, the Dean of Rangsit University’s Faculty of Law and a former member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, is opposed to the People’s Party, referring to them as “children.” That’s flat-out pathetic and outright partisan and calls their credibility into question.
When they point to Thailand’s “deep structural recession” in “economy, society and the justice system,” perhaps the Academics for Society might reflect on the fact that their military junta and their political “philosophy” has brought Thailand to this very low point. As we keep repeating, it was the junta, the palace, and yellow-hued academics and moral evangelists who designed and wanted this deeply flawed system.
In terms of the justice system, the group has a point. They:
urged sweeping reform of the justice system and the patronage networks embedded within it. Police, prosecutors and courts must operate free from discrimination and political interference, while grey capital and vested interests must be eliminated.
Rotten to the core
Every day for many years, the corruption in the system has been open for all to say. Think of the Saudi gems and Red Bull sagas, elephant ticket promotions, compromised police chiefs doling out loot, duels between high level cops, including one connected with the palace, and this list could go on.
Just today, the Bangkok Post reports on yet another judicial scam involving Chinese detainees. (The earlier one is worth recalling too, where wealthy Chinese bribed prison officials for airconditioned rooms, fancy food and prostitutes). In the most recent revelation – soon to be “investigated” until the heat is off – it is revealed that 131 Chinese nationals held for deportation were transferred to police custody between 2021 and 2025 under court-issued warrants for criminal proceedings have not been returned for removal from the country. That would suggest pay-offs throughout the judicial system to allow these detainees to melt away.
But here is the big one. Yesterday, the Bangkok Post reported that an unnamed judge has ordered the indictment of People’s Party MP Rangsiman Rome “ in a case filed by Benjamin Mauerberger, also known as ‘Ben Smith’… along with a civil lawsuit seeking 100 million baht in damages…”. In other words, as has happened in several high-profile and politically-connected cases, the Criminal Court has accepted a criminal defamation case that protects big shots. The court has reportedly ruled that Rangsiman’s “remarks accusing a foreign businessman of involvement in a scam and call-centre network were defamatory and not supported by evidence.”
In a sense, this action is very like SLAPPs that seek to silence critics of the rich and powerful, and which have been common in Thailand.
The judge’s machinations deserve full quotes:
The case arises from comments made by Mr Rangsiman during a parliamentary debate on Sept 30, in which he alleged that Mr Mauerberger was linked to a scam gang and call-centre operations, causing damage to the plaintiff’s reputation. The court held a preliminary examination on Nov 24 before issuing its decision.
After reviewing documents and publicly available media materials, including Facebook posts, photos and video clips, the court found that the remarks were widely accessible to the public.
It ruled that the statements could lead third parties to believe the plaintiff was involved in fraudulent schemes to unlawfully obtain property or benefits, engage in money laundering, and operate illegal businesses.
The court determined that the statements constituted defamation by publication to third parties and were likely to cause the plaintiff to be discredited or hated.
Although the remarks were made by an MP, the court noted that they were disseminated beyond parliament through radio and television broadcasts, thereby subjecting them to criminal liability and civil claims.
Is this yet another judge for hire or is the judge following orders from higher up? Given the links between Mauerberger and any number of powerful politicians, including Thaksin Shinawatra, Thammanat Prompao, and several Bhum Jai Thai bigwigs, and the enormous amounts of money being filched and laundered, one can but wonder about such possibilities within a corrupted judicial system.
Thammanat from Pavin’s FB page
The judicial system has been corrupted for years, and everyone knows that police, prosecutors and judges can be bribed. Everyone also knows that the police is a huge money-making enterprise that demands that funds be funneled to it s bosses. This is one of the reasons why high-level positions and lucrative locations for the police attract huge payments, mounting into millions of dollars.
This basic corruption has been intensified by dumb-assed decisions made by the dead king, cloth-headed junta members and their acolytes, and by “good people” ideologues like the Academics for Society who have institutionalized and constitutionalized judicial powers.
The judicial system has also been corrupted by intensified politicization in recent years, including the bizarre contortionism that has accompanied lese majeste cases, where judges make things up and interpret the law in strange ways to manufacture convictions.
In other words, the system does need sweeping reform for it is rotten to the core.
Update: Just to add to the slime trail created by “good people,” the Bangkok Post has an editorial on corruption at the National Anti-Corruption Commission, where it says:
Two statements issued by National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) officials, urging a commissioner to resign over bribery allegations involving gold bars, suggest moral hazard at the country’s graft-busting office.
The NACC has long been politicized by coup makers and “good people” seeking to hobble their political opponents. This politicization has included nepotism and, now, huge alleged corruption. It is another sign of the rottenness that the military and it allies have institutionalized.
Yet another year has passed for Political Prisoners in Thailand. Fully 17 years after we began, political prisoners still languish in the prisons of a corrupt legal system. What has changed most is that the current crop of persons imprisoned for lese majeste, sedition, and other crimes meant to protect the monarchy and its associated ruling class is that the detainees are now much younger than they were all those years ago.
Sophon entered a guilty plea to two of the minor charges but declared he was not guilty of lese majeste.
As an election approaches, 
Political Prisoners in Thailand 