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A lot of people from around the world saw the news clips on television and the Internet. A notable exception could be Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej who remained tight-lipped and feigned ignorance over the bloody events.

What happened in Udon Thani was not an isolated incident. The goons there were like those who have taken similar actions against anti-government protesters affiliated with the People's Alliance for Democracy elsewhere in northern and northeastern provinces.

One similarity throughout all of these violent events has been the lack of prompt legal action by police and other law-enforcement authorities. They have instead chosen to neglect their duty through indifference and a lukewarm response to keeping the victims from a mob lynching.

Samak, who is capable of touching upon all sorts of issues known and unknown to mankind, has been strangely quiet on this issue. When pressed by reporters, he sported a sullen, no-nonsense face to discourage unwelcome lines of questioning.

Before the violent confrontations between the anti-government demonstrators and the hired goons, the embattled prime minister lamented during his TV talk that previously his people had been on the receiving end, but that "from now on, it's my payback time".

The attacks went too far this time and made the areas concerned resemble a lawless society. This trend for the escalation of the political conflict is potentially dangerous.

There were rumours of possible fatalities and hidden dead bodies. The degree of the violence has prompted Human Rights Watch to issue a strong statement denouncing the government for turning a blind eye to the brutal acts of hired goons.

What's more it appears that two of the ringleaders behind the hired thugs are closely associated with the government. One of them is a younger brother of the deputy agriculture minister and the other is a political appointee attached to the prime minister's secretary-general's office.

These two gave themselves up to face criminal charges. What was truly pathetic was that the police in Udon Thani refused to take legal action until a complaint was filed by a retired police officer.

Senior police officers and the provincial governor stand to face more charges of neglect of duty and failure to provide reasonable protection to the protesters who had been staging a peaceful rally. Their belated response to the culprits was forced upon them rather than precipitated by their own sense of guilt.

It did not occur to the two instigators of the hired thugs - whose salaries are paid with taxpayer money - that they should resign to show some kind of sense of responsibility. Alas, such displays of conscience among politicians are very rare.

Samak and his entire Cabinet should take responsibility for having condoned such violence. There were even more disturbing reports that a senior Cabinet member had called one of the leaders and lauded them for a job well done.

It remains to be seen how actively the police in charge of the case will pursue justice for the injured protesters and whether those senior officials will be punished for their intentional neglect of duty.

Will the incident in Udon Thani serve as a showstopper? That's highly unlikely. Politicians in the government camp have seen that hiring thugs to disrupt protest rallies is one among many techniques of intimidation and harassment open to them. But this belief could cost them dearly.

Samak and his team of Cabinet members as well as senior officials will face investigations in court proceedings, which could end up in penalties including jail terms. So far, they are unfazed by such threats of a legal backlash, believing that they can get away with excuses and other means.

Whatever the ultimate outcome of the entire case, the Samak government has lost the legitimacy to rule through the violation to the Constitution and the failure to maintain law and order, putting people's lives at risk. The people who refuse to tolerate the behaviour of callous politicians can just wait for the judicial process to work and punish the wrongdoers. What happened yesterday at the Supreme Court was highly encouraging. The power of justice was felt by all political villains and more is to follow.