BANGKOK — A question in the police force entrance examination is making rounds on social media on Tuesday for its mind-boggling challenge: how do you spell the Royal Thai Police in English?
The question was revealed on Police General Staff and Crime Suppression Exam Questions, a Facebook page that often posts samples of questionnaires applicants to the force would face when they sit for an exam.
“How is the Royal Thai Police spelled in English?” reads the question in Thai. The multiple-choice answers are: “A. Royai Thai Police. B. Royal Thai Poilce. C. Royal Thai Police. D. Royal Tai Police.”
(Perhaps the final option was a reference to the Tai peoples, who are part of ethnic groups such as Tai Yai, Tai Lue, among others.)
Netizens spared no firepower in mocking the exam question, which had more than 4,600 reactions, 1,700 comments, and 4,000 shares as of publication time.
“This level of difficulty is just right for the amount of intelligence of people in the organization, because you don’t need to use your brain at all in this job,” wrote user Cheerlaya Rachprakhon, in a comment that was liked more than 1,600 times.
User Manasawan Nas Yo Nomklom offered another answer: “E. Hua Kwai Thai Police,” which means “buffalo head.”
“Do you guys also have exam questions for following orders, counting coins, chewing pellet food, peeing in litter boxes?” wrote user RxWasatorn Maksuwan.
“The name is Royal but your salary doesn’t come from Royal,” wrote user Sasina Toophom, referring to the taxpayer-funded force.
The harsh sentiment reflects a new low of trust in the police felt by many younger social media users, who were left appalled by police beating of a volunteer medic during Saturday’s protest. The medic was later charged with breaking the Emergency Decree’s ban on protests, even though he maintained he was not a demonstrator.
To be fair, on the same day the police exam prep page showed more complicated English quiz questions, such as conversation phrases and study sheets on using the subjunctive case.
Thailand ranks 89 out of 100 countries in the English Proficiency Index, one of the lowest in the world. English education in Thai public schools is often found to be lacking.
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