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Political drama is continuing in the Police Department, with police chief Patcharawat Wongsuwan returning from his controversial leave abroad yesterday. But few of the stories remaining to unfold could compare to last week's emotional scene involving Police General Priewpan Damapong, which, while correctly representing many of the ills of Thailand's political and bureaucratic systems, was bizarre to say the least.

Claiming he was a victim of political discrimination, the ex-brother-in-law of Thaksin Shinawatra tearfully questioned Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva about the naming of an acting police chief. Priewpan believed that, despite his unrivalled seniority, he missed out on the promotion because of his ties to the ousted former leader.

There are many political lessons that could be learned from Priewpan's dramatic press interview. The biggest concerns the law of nepotism: What goes around comes around, and if you benefited when things were going your way, you should accept it with dignity when they don't.

Priewpan was a low-key police officer until his brother-in-law Thaksin came to power in 2001. Just before the Thaksin government declared a "war on drugs", the then prime minister handpicked his brother-in-law to head the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. In the police corridors, that meant that Priewpan was being groomed for the position of national police chief, as part of Thaksin's alleged plan to consolidate power through domination of the police service.

And although Priewpan brought some sort of embarrassment to the government with his botched operation to arrest a northern drug kingpin, who subsequently won an acquittal, he received Thaksin's blessing to bypass all senior police commissioners to get to the position of assistant national police chief. That particular promotion came at the expense of such crime-busters as Police General Seripisut Temiyavej, whose career was sidelined to pave the way for Priewpan's rise, and Police General Wongkot Maneerin, a police cadet classmate of Thaksin.

Amid the eruption of street protests against Thaksin's controversial leadership, Priewpan was again put on a fast-track promotion to become deputy national police chief, although it was, at that time, an unprecedented move to twice elevate him within a year. That prompted accusations that Thaksin was pushing to install his in-law as the police chief in an attempt to reverse his political predicament.

The 2006 coup shattered the dreams of Thaksin and Priewpan both, ending the heavy politicisation of the police force. But the coup, for all its evils, served to prove that too much nepotism can burn your fingers.

What Thaksin did to the military was not much different from what happened to the police. He hauled his cousin Chaiyasit Shinawatra over the heads of all prime candidates for the Army chief post and installed him in the most powerful position in complete disregard of all criticism. Conflicts over the deep South, however, later diluted the two men's blood ties and Chaiyasit was finally "kicked upstairs" to become supreme commander.

After that, Thaksin seemed hell-bent on doing another "Chaiyasit". His cadet classmate Pornchai Kranlert was "lobbed" from the Armed Forces Development Command to land within striking distance of the Army commander-in-chief post. However, Pornchai's lack of seniority meant that he first needed to be groomed, and had to wait as Army deputy commander-in-chief. Thaksin needed a fill-in. After much manoeuvring, the name of Sonthi Boonyaratglin was selected as the final option. But the stand-in Army chief led a coup before Thaksin could reconsolidate his control over the military.

 Police General Priewpan couldn't possibly have forgotten that nepotism was at its worst during the Thaksin era. And it didn't just happen to the military and the police. The business sector and the civil service were also heavily influenced by the then prime minister's connections. This is why there was so little resistance when his ex-wife Pojaman wanted to buy a lucrative, government-auctioned plot of land at Ratchadaphisek, and why government officials rose up one after another to defend the conspicuous use of nominees in the controversial, tax-free Temasek deal.

This is not to say that nepotism was not there before Thaksin or that it disappeared after he was ousted. What is deplorable is the scale of what happened during his time. It has created a wrong political manual on how to hold on to power. After years of being relatively free from politics, the military is now heavily politicised, although to be fair to Thaksin, the politicisation had much to do with the coup that ousted him. The police, far less politicised previously, have since been totally shrouded in political intrigue.

Priewpan's tears, therefore, make us sad for a different reason. They amplify the truth about nepotism in this country, telling us how it has become so sinister that men like him have the audacity to cry foul about it.