People are getting mad. They are mad because the country's elite is making such a mess of things and the public can do nothing but watch events unfold.
The situation has become so gawdawful that people are literally ready to take an axe and hack at it.
They have seen that the deputy generalissimo has so many luxury watches that went undeclared. His explanation that they belonged to friends of his did not go down too well with the public.
People can sense BS when they hear it. As Thais like to say, "We do not eat grass". They are also mad because the state corruption busters seem to be coy in pursuing the case.
Fortunately for the general, something has come to his rescue from all of this constant public inquiry: The arrest of Italian-Thai Development Plc's president.
If there's a compelling reason why we should have justice system reform, the Premchai Karnasuta case is probably it.
It is most telling that right from the outset, opinions on social media are nearly unanimous that the president of the construction giant will eventually walk free.
It doesn't matter whether the tycoon will finally be found guilty. It doesn't matter whether the police are conducting an impeccable investigation or the public prosecutor is arguing the case brilliantly or the court passes a well-reasoned judgement.
What matters is the public has already passed judgement and it sounds like this: The justice system, particularly the police, are not serving the cause of justice.
Say what you will about the Thai people's tendency to be irrational or emotional, rather than reasonable. But the fact remains, in their eyes, the justice system is impotent in the face of wealth and power.
The following quotes have been lifted from a single Facebook post:
"Everybody knows we have laws to punish only the poor. Where is justice in this country, somebody please tell me?"
"Let me be straight: I hate the police and never have any hope for this country's justice system."
"This story informs us that with wealth and power, you can do no wrong."
"Whoever commits sins will suffer consequences according to their karma, not according to law."
"Prisons are for the poor and scapegoats only."
Similar sentiments run through most discussions on the subject. Something is obviously terribly wrong when most people perceive the justice system as unjust.
In the public's eye, the police are as much suspects as Mr Premchai et al. With deputy police chief Pol Gen Srivara Rangsibrahmanakul at the helm of the investigation, people have reason to confirm their beliefs.
The deputy police chief got off on the wrong foot at the outset of the investigation by threatening the wildlife sanctuary chief for failing to collect admission fees from the Premchai group.
A month later people are wondering why the police have still not brought Mr Premchai in for questioning even though they have been interrogating the sanctuary staff. Who are the accused, anyway?
Two days ago, a police captain was reprimanded, apparently on Pol Gen Srivara's directive, because he took a complaint from a forest staffer who mistakenly accused the tycoon of violating the animal cruelty law.
The police general is probably aware of the public's scepticism. But he has too much pride to hide his frustration and disdain.
However, his frustration cannot compare with what the Thai people have experienced under the military regime.
Police reform was supposedly a priority under the National Council for Peace and Order when it took over state power. Four years on, not a shred has been produced that will take us near that goal.
Instead, the junta has created an oppressive atmosphere in which people have no right to voice their opinion or participate in charting the country's future. Any attempt to break the code of silence is subject to swift crackdowns.
But you cannot put a lid on the pot of boiling water for long without it blowing up. That's just physics, and it has now begun to manifest itself in such recent phenomena as public resistance and resentment against any form of official misconduct, perceived or real.
Recently, attention has been drawn toward a project that built offices and housing for judicial personnel in Chiang Mai.
The project took a big chunk of woodland on the slope of Doi Suthep mountain, which serves as the pride of the city.
Despite its lawful status, the project has taken flak. This is a rare phenomenon of Thai people taking judicial authorities to task for their insensitivity to public values.
Sprinkled among these scandals are numerous probes of allegedly corrupt officials that drag on forever.
Futsal courts that were never built, or which disintegrated almost as soon as they were built, are one example.
Others would include the hundreds of natural-gas buses that should be replacing the ancient fleets seen on Bangkok streets, but which are being left to rot in open parking lots; or the hundreds of police stations that were never built despite contractors being paid; and so on.
All these made headlines for a while until some other scandal stole the public's attention.
Not to mention all the expensive military projects that have been bungled, but which no one has taken responsibility for.
So don't be surprised if someday soon people start streaming out of their houses and offices shouting: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."
How this will end, one can only imagine.
Wasant Techawongtham is a former news editor, Bangkok Post.
