Busy “adviser”

Perhaps if the Office of the Ombudsman paid Metropolitan Police chief Pol Lt Gen Sanit Mahathavorn 50,000 baht a month, he might have been able to supply it with the documentation on his monthly payment from Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s ThaiBev.

Instead, the “busy” General “has asked the Ombudsman for another month to explain his paid advisory role with giant alcoholic drinks producer Thai Beverage Plc.”

How complicated can explaining a 50,000 baht payment for being an “adviser” be? The report states that “Thai Beverage had submitted a written explanation, but details could not be disclosed until the city police chief submitted his clarification.”

More complicated might be explaining the curious math in his assets declaration. He might like to explain how a policeman with a yearly salary of 1.4 million baht (and that’s now, not earlier in his career) can accumulate cash deposits worth about 44 million baht (with his spouse). Throw in other assets held like land and houses, and the policeman and his wife are worth more than 93 million baht.