<p>A former member of the parliament (MP) from the Democrat Party says that more than half of Thailand’s military conscripts end up as servants for high-ranking military officers.</p> <p>On 4 April 2017, Wilat Chantarapitak, a former Democrat Party MP and former advisor to a parliamentary anti-corruption committee,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.matichon.co.th/news/519449">told the media</a>&nbsp;that the military conscription system in Thailand is in crisis.</p>

<p>The recent announcement that the Ministry of Commerce <a href="http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30306190">is pursuing 20 billion baht</a> in allegedly ‘fake’ rice deals in terms of compensation from six senior individuals, namely former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom; his former deputy Poom Sarapol; Manas Soyploy, a former director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade; his former deputy Tikamporn Natvorathat; and Akrapong Theepvajara, ex-director of the Foreign Rice Trading Office, makes one wonder how deep the rabbit hole goes.</p>

<div> <div>A global report has ranked Thailand’s perceived level of corruption at 101st out of 176 countries, due to its undemocratic political climate and pervasive corruption.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Though the junta has set the elimination of corruption as a policy priority, Thailand’s ranking has slipped down Transparency International’s <a href="https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016">Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2016</a> from joint 76th in 2015 to joint 101st. Its score also dropped from 38 out of 100, to 35. </div></div>

<p>The Royal Thai Police have announced that as many as 200 people might be arrested for cheating in the highly competitive police recruitment examination.</p> <p>On 18 January 2017, Pol Lt Gen Sanit Mahathavorn, Metropolitan Police Bureau Commissioner, announced that as many as 200 people could face arrest warrants over the recent police entrance exam scandal.</p> <p>The scam-ridden exam where 85,989 applicants were competing for 5,000 lance corporal positions was held at the Bang Na and Hua Mark campuses of Ramkhamhaeng University on 4 December 2016.</p>

<p><em>The revised Computer Crime Act has introduced the novel offence of ‘distorted information’.&nbsp; Once the Act comes into force, any information which is transmitted online, like these articles, and which is deliberately false, can serve as the basis for a criminal prosecution.&nbsp;</em></p>

<div><span>Thailand’s Office of the Auditor General has announced that they will distribute ‘magical scarves’ which will help safeguard public money in the fight against corruption.</span></div> <div> <p>The Office of the Auditor General of Thailand on Tuesday, 5 July 2016, announced that they are preparing to distribute <em>Pha Yan</em>, scarves imprinted with magical symbols, for people who are trying to combat corruption,&nbsp;<a> </a></p></div>

<p>Maybe the military government is getting a bad rap over the alleged corruption concerning Rajaphakti Park.&nbsp; I know one of their stated excuses for overturning the constitution and ousting a democratic government was the elimination of corruption, but it would be unreasonable to expect any government to be 100% spotless.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sorry, but are we living under a military dictatorship or not?</p> <p>This morning’s paper has a lead that says the military are about to throw Deputy Defence Minister, former Army Commander-in-Chief and chairman of the Rajabhakti Park Foundation General Udomdej Sitabutr to the anti-corruption wolves (or at least those of them who are less selective in their outrage).&nbsp;</p>

<p dir="ltr">Update: <a href="http://news.voicetv.co.th/thailand/292509.html">Voice TV</a> reported on Monday at 9:46 am that many police and military officers were deployed at Mahachai Muang Mai Market in Samut Sakhon Province where Jatuporn, Nattawut, and other UDD members planned to meet before travelling to Rajabhakdi Park. The officers have reportedly taken both Jatuporn and Nattawut into a military van. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Thai military have summoned a Pheu Thai Party member for a talk after he criticised the military’s Royal Park corruption scandal.</p>

<p>An international think tank monitoring corruption has revealed in its latest report that Thailand’s defence spending is among the least transparent in the world, especially since the 2014 coup d’état.</p> <p>According to the 2015&nbsp;<a href="http://government.defenceindex.org/countries/thailand/">Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GI)</a>&nbsp;compiled by Transparency International, Thailand’s defence spending is graded ‘E’ in an index with grades ranging from ‘A’ for best practice to ‘F’ for the worst. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Thai police have announced that they have not yet proceeded to investigate allegations of graft in the construction of the military’s royal theme park, saying that no one has so far filed a case.</p> <p>On Wednesday, 11 November 2015, Pol Maj Gen Piyapan Pingmuang, Deputy Spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police, told the media that the police have not yet summoned Gen Udomdej Sitabutr, the current Deputy Defence Minister and former Army Commander-in-chief, for interrogation on corruption in the construction of Rajabhakti Park.</p>