Justice for ordinary folk? Fat chance

Chiang Mai pub brawl victim Issarajnuwat Wankawisan has reportedly been discharged from hospital, but his case, as well as a few others that have been in the news, suggests that Thailand's justice system remains in intensive care.

The beating of Issarajnuwat, 23, allegedly by a group of security guards at the Malin Sky pub late last month, became the instant talk of the town because it hit squarely at society's sorest points.

Thais, even expats who have lived here long enough, could identify with the pub crime easily because it was allegedly about the flouting of privileges and snubbed the rule of law.

In this society that has been so bruised by class-based conflicts and recently described by the leading financial company Credit Suisse as the third most unequal country in the world, incidents like this one or the prostrate-to-my-car before it immediately grabbed people's attention because they feel as if it hurt them too.

The series of incidents that led to the Chiang Mai pub beating has "it could happen to you" written all over it. It's about how rules can always be bent in favour of power, whether legitimate or underground. It's about how "connections", usually supported by brute force, can trump laws. It's about how we Thais have to live with this dual-image society, one that presents itself as being law-based but functions like a jungle.

According to the victim, the story goes like this. Issarajnuwat claimed he was barred from entering the pub's rest room because some TV stars were using it.

Is this something that could happen to us? Of course. Being Thais, we are quite used to being relegated to second-class citizens and having to wait for somebody who is either higher in social rank, more connected to some sources of power, or in this case more famous, to do their business first.

Are there any Thais who believe movie stars, even minor celebrities, never receive privileged treatment? Is there anybody who hasn't been taught to avoid messing with politicians, influential figures, the military or police officers? Do we really have faith that justice is blind to social class, power, wealth or personal connections?

In real life, things are usually okay if we follow the unwritten rules. In the case of Issarajnuwat, however, the system was disrupted when the young man dared to complain about the alleged privilege. The result was that he got seriously injured by a group of security guards who beat him up in front of other customers at the pub.

As it turned out, what made the case even more entertaining, for lack of a better word, is that Issarajnuwat, who dared to disrupt the unspoken mafia-style system, is the son of an army general in command of the northern region.

The victim suddenly became the victor. People were at first concerned that Issarajnuwat's case could have been forgotten, with no one being held to account -- in the manner that we have seen in the Red Bull heir's deadly car accident before it.

Social media comments indicate how people are pleased that top regime officials including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security affairs Prawit Wongsuwon paid attention to the case and instructed officials concerned to ensure justice.

People also cheered after an order came down for the pub located on the fifth floor of a mall to be torn down because it did not have a proper construction license. Most were gratified that the government has broadened the scope of the beating case into a crackdown on mafia figures, a campaign that the regime launched itself in 2014.

But really, are these developments anything people should feel delighted about? It's good news that Issarajnuwat has walked out of the hospital but the latest reports suggested that no one has stepped up to be his witness reportedly out of fear for repercussions. This is despite news reports that a group of students helped Issarajnuwat away from the beating and took him to safety before he filed charges against his attackers at the police station.

Should we feel relieved knowing that no CCTV footage is available in the Malin Sky case because all the cameras at the pub happened to malfunction? Should we all feel safer now that the government has launched yet another episode of its campaign against outlaws?

Issarajnuwat was able to get justice in his case because of who he is and who he is connected to. That does not mean the system is working. It does not mean ordinary Thais will not get kicked if we refuse to bow down to higher powers, whether legitimate or not.