Patronage at work

The appointment of Pol Capt Atitaya Benjapak, better known as “Captain Cat” as deputy district chief officer in Si Sa Ket has sparked an uproar, not only because of her meteoric rise through the civil service but also because of what her case reveals about the chronic flaws in the bureaucratic system.

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At just 29, Pol Capt Atitaya has lived many public lives as a country singer, a beauty queen crowned Miss Grand Si Sa Ket 2018 and second runner-up Miss Thailand 2024, and, most remarkably, as a fast-tracked civil servant.

In only seven years she has shifted across four agencies, from the Royal Thai Army Band Department to the Royal Thai Police, then the Department of Provincial Administration, and most recently, nominated to assist the House Speaker at Parliament.

Her career trajectory has been astonishing. She was promoted from police lance corporal in 2020 to police captain in 2023, a surprisingly rapid promotion. Soon after, she transferred to the Interior Ministry as a public relations officer, attended the 2025 training course for district officers, and was appointed deputy district chief officer in Si Sa Ket.