In order to prepare inmates for the outside world, these inmates from Minburi prison were taught how to cook various different dishes.

Floods have hit the Kabin Buri district of Prachin Buri province hard, forcing the relocation of 734 inmates at Kabin Buri prison as the water continues to rise.

Somchai Premjai, the Kabin Buri prison commander, said he had sought permission from the Zone 2 Corrections Office in Chon Buri to relocate the 734 inmates to Sa Kaeo and Chanthaburi prisons.

Before noon on Sunday, the prison was 20cm under water and the level was still rising.

In the municipal area, the water level at the Kabin Buri municipal market was at one metre. Nearly all roads in the municipality have been flooded.

While millions of people log on to Facebook every day, those behind bars have absolutely no access to the world – virtual or otherwise. This subject was so close to one inmate’s heart that he decided a write a short story about it, and now the entertaining tale has been added to a compilation of short stories written by prisoners titled “Face Kook”.

“Face Kook” – from the Thai word for “prison”, khuk – comes in two editions – the one with a pink cover carries stories written by female inmates in Ratchaburi Prison, while the one in blue shares tales recounted by male prisoners of Bang Khwang maximum-security prison.

“Not being able to log in is just one of the many restrictions inmates have to live with,” famous writer Orasom Suthisakorn said.

She is one of the several writers to have conducted writing courses for prisoners that were launched three years ago as part of a project initiated by HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha. The Princess wanted to help inmates develop writing skills so they could realise their potential and share the lessons they have learned.

“These lessons, when published, may prevent others from making the same mistakes,” Justice Ministry inspector-general Chatree Chochai said yesterday. He was speaking at the launch of “Face Kook”.

Several well-known writers have led writing courses under the project, among them SEA Write award winners Naowarat Pongpaiboon, Saksiri Meesomsueb and Paiwarin Khao-ngam.

“Face Kook” is the second book to be published under this project.

The inmate who wrote about prisoners’ lack of access to social media said he decided to join the writing class after he learned that some of his fellow prisoners had written stories that were published in the previous book.

“I have been behind bars for 13 years and during this time, I have come to realise that there are many types of people in prison,” he said.

Another writer, a woman, said that thanks to this writing project, she and her fellow prisoners felt they still had a place in society.

“I am so glad that my work has been published,” she said.

Another female inmate said she began writing because she wanted to put her free time to good use. “My story aims to tell others that if they don’t behave well and get involved in drugs, they might end up in prison.”

The International Relations Department has confirmed a South African woman has died in a Thai prison hospital.

The woman, who was caught as an alleged drug mule, passed away after a long illness last week.

The department said it received news about her passing just a few days ago.

The woman, who cannot be named because her family have not been formally notified about her death, is believed to have spent the last two years in the Klong Prem Central prison in Bangkok.

She was admitted to the prison hospital after suffering severe fever and headaches over a long period.

It’s thought she may have contracted tuberculosis.

Meanwhile, international relations officials apparently struggled to track down her relatives.

Justice Minister Chaikasem Nitisiri yesterday revealed a plan to seek Cabinet approval for a Bt30-billion budget to build 42 new prisons nationwide. In a bid to curb prison overcrowding, the ministry also seeks to issue a regulation suspending the remaining sentences of elderly inmates and of those prisoners who have served at least two-thirds of their terms.

Measures would also be implemented to help reduce the number of people sentenced to prison terms, he added.

Corrections Department chief Suchart Wong-anantachai said the 42 new prisons would include some “super max” high-security prisons to house serious offenders such as key drug dealers. Regarding a plan to privatise some prisons, Suchart said some firms with expertise could be used to assist in the detention of defendants awaiting their final trials, as well as pregnant inmates.

Stricter monitoring of drug-dealing activities at 17 high-security prisons had seen drug dealers resort to throwing or airlifting – by remote-controlled toy aircraft – cell phones over prison walls to inmates in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Khlong Phai and Ratchaburi’s Khao Bin prisons, Suchart said. Despite the stepped up monitoring, cell-phone smuggling into prisons continued, he said, with smartphones fetching Bt100,000 each and iPhones costing Bt300,000. Normal phones cost from Bt5,000 to Bt30,000, he said.

Journalist and Muay Thai enthusiast James Goyder got a glimpse inside a notorious jail when he participated in a boxing match with one of the inmates.

The popularity of behind-bars documentaries like Banged Up Abroad had probably given me unrealistic expectations as I stepped inside the imposing walls of Klong Prem Prison in Bangkok.
I had been ready for riots, drugs, gangs and violence but it soon became clear that life for the 5,246 inmates was much more mundane.

The daily schedule was displayed on the wall:
05:30 Wake Up Whistle
06:00 Going Out Of Sleeping Quarters
17:00 Going Up To Sleeping Quarters
19:00 Meditation and Prayer Time
20:00 Sleeping Time

It was not until we had been shown where the prisoners sleep that the significance of this timetable really sank in. The cells all measured approximately 1.5 metres x 3.5 metres including a small bathroom area at the back which consisted of a tap and a hole in the floor for a lavatory. This was partitioned off from the remainder of the room by nothing more than a waist-height wall.

Each cell held three to four prisoners but there were no chairs or beds. Instead, inmates slept side by side on the floor, and if they were lucky there was a small TV in the corner. They spend 13 hours a day in this claustrophobically confined space.

We were given a guided tour by a well-educated inmate whose story was vaguely reminiscent of that of Walter White in the Breaking Bad TV series which had concluded the previous week. He had learned English by working overseas before being caught producing methamphetamine and handed a 50 year sentence.

According to our guide, regular urine testing ensured that drug use was minimal, at least in the section we were in, while violence is rare and rape absolutely unheard of. The only thing that prisoners have to fear is disease – if someone in a cell contracts something it will inevitably spread to all the other occupants.

Perhaps to compensate for this spirit-sapping night-time regime, prison authorities are more proactive when it comes to keeping the inmates occupied during the day. One block contains footballers who will play together morning and afternoon with Klong Prem famously hosting its own ‘World Cup’ back in 2010.

The block we were shown around was adjacent to a boxing ring where prisoners train together twice a day and occasionally compete in Prison Fight, an event held inside Klong Prem’s walls which gives inmates the opportunity to take on outsiders at either Muay Thai or boxing.

The prisoners I spoke to seemed to be serving sentences of anything from 20 to 80 years, mainly for drug offences. Many of them were covered head to toe in ornate body art which, according to our guide, prove popular purely because getting tattooed is virtually the only way to alleviate the boredom at night.

We did hear a few light-hearted anecdotes. For instance our guide informed us that if two prisoners had a problem with one another they were sometimes given boxing gloves and told to settle their differences in a supervised setting inside the ring.
We were also told that inmates were allowed to enter into relationships with the ladyboys who make up a small percentage of the prison population, but only on the condition that they informed the authorities first and agreed to an official marriage of sorts.

Once the ‘marriage’ had been approved they would be moved into the same cell and if the relationship eventually came to an end they could seek an official divorce. This emphasis on monogamy is understandable given how prevalent HIV is among Thailand’s transgender community.

In order to get access to Klong Prem in the first place I had agreed to do a boxing match with an inmate. The fight itself won’t linger long in the memory – it was a scrappy affair and I lost a decision – but the sight of the prisoners crammed into those cells for 13 hours at a time is not something I will forget in a hurry.

From what we saw, prison life didn’t seem to be fraught with danger, other than the risk of disease, but the monotony of the daily routine must be absolutely unbearable. It’s difficult to imagine settling into a schedule like that and accepting that it is going to continue for several decades, potentially to the end of your natural life.

The Forensic Institute was instructed to conduct compulsory DNA checks for inmates and migrant workers nationwide.

During his inspection trip to the institute yesterday, Justice Minister Chaikasem Nitisiri was informed that collection of DNA data among inmates has been done on a voluntary basis and the institute now has DNA data for more than 100,000 prisoners.

The majority of the data involves 60,000 convicts on drugs charges and 40,000 others on charges concerning security in Thailand’s southern border provinces.

The data is useful in tracing inmates who violate the law after they are released.

Mr Chaikasem said he wanted the Forensic Institute to study the possibility of mandatory DNA checks among prisoners after it was found that 5 per cent of inmates, mostly in major cases, refused to have their DNA checked.

He said he agreed with a proposal to require DNA checks among migrant workers in Thailand to search for them in case they disappear or become crime victims.

Thonburi Remand Prison recently held a merit making event to mark the 98th anniversary of the Department of corrections. Three monks were invited to the prison and inmates were able to make merit by offering alms. They also listened to a sermon.

The 61-year-old grandfather, also known as ”Uncle SMS” because he was convicted of sending four short text messages deemed insulting to the monarchy to the then personal secretary of Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, died while in custody in May 2012.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for defaming the monarchy in 2010.
The court conducted an inquest into the death after the prosecution requested verification of the cause.

His relatives raised concerns that he died because of a lack of proper treatment at the prison’s hospital.

The court ruled yesterday that Ampon, who suffered from liver cancer, died because of blood circulation problems and heart failure.

The court rejected testimony by Thantawut Taweewarodomkul, a lese majeste prisoner who shared the same living quarters with Ampon, and Kittiphum Juthasamit, a Phusing Hospital director, that improper treatment at the prison hospital and inadequate equipment at the correctional facility contributed to his death.

During the inquest which began seven months ago, Mr Thantawut told the court the prison authorities did not give Ampon enough food and restricted his meetings with doctors. Prison officials also abused him verbally because he was a lese majeste prisoner.The court said yesterday the authorities did not discriminate against Ampon.

He was given meals of a similar standard to other inmates, the court said.

As for Dr Kittiphum’s comment that the prison hospital should have done more for Ampon, the court ruled the doctor’s opinion did not prove the prison’s hospital caused his death.

Doctors may have different approaches to treating patients, the court said.

Ratchanee Harnsomsakul, 59, a senior nurse who was working at the hospital on May 8, the day of Ampon’s death, said medical staff provided the inmate with the standard treatment.

However, she admitted the prison hospital was not properly equipped to treat cancer patients.

A police forensic team which conducted a post-mortem said Ampon had died as a result of lung cancer.

Ampon’s wife Rosalin filed a lawsuit seeking more than two million baht in compensation from the Corrections Department early this year.

”She does not actually want the money but she would like to make a point about what she believes are substandard medical services for prisoners,” Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen, one of Ampon’s lawyers, said.

”There’s nothing personal here.”

It’s late summer in the emerald hills of Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima province, some 150 miles northeast of Bangkok. The sticky heat, common during this time of year, is even more stifling in the cramped courtyard of Klong Pai, one of the country’s largest high-security prisons, which houses drug traffickers, thieves, murderers and––as evidenced by the blows being exchanged on the blood-stained canvas in front of me—some of the best Muay Thai boxers in the world.

As flea-bitten dogs roam the courtyard, darting between the legs of the hundreds of inmates on hand for the fight—which mixes aspects of martial arts and traditional boxing—Arran Burton, a heavily tattooed beanpole from the hardscrabble English city of Colchester, does battle with Chalernpol Sawangsuk, a 26-year-old currently serving time at Klong Pai for trafficking crystal meth.

Though Burton, a free man, has the advantages of training in proper gyms, maintaining good nutrition and being an established fighter on the local Muay Thai circuit, his opponent, who is just 5-foot-7, has him off balance. Sawangsuk ducks under a hook, evades a jab and then counters with a hard kick to the solar plexus that sends Burton wobbling backward into the ropes. The inmate spectators—no doubt rooting for one of their own—give a raucous cheer.

Sawangsuk, smiling through the rubber of his mouth guard, has every reason to be pleased. A win today wouldn’t just bring him the admiration of his fellow inmates—it would bring him one step closer to freedom.

The Klong Pai fight is part of a program set up in 2010 by the Thai government that sanctions fights at dozens of correctional facilities across the country. Only prison officials, local politicians, inmates, family members and the professional fighters who began to participate this year are allowed to attend. The events are orchestrated in much the same way as pro tournaments: All fighters wear regulation gloves and wraps, and every bout is overseen by a seasoned Muay Thai referee.

If an inmate wins a match, his case is referred to the warden of his prison, who then has the option of reducing his sentence by months or even years. After winning five straight bouts, Sawangsuk, a former enforcer for a Bangkok gambling ring, has already shaved seven years off his 10-year sentence. If he wins today, he could be a free man within a few months.

On the face of it, the program seems ridiculous, like something out of a Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie. You could go as far as to say there’s something vaguely sinister about it: The most dangerous men in the correctional system are the ones awarded their freedom.

There is also, though, a certain logic to the program. Drugs and gang activity are rampant in Thai prisons, and there are precious few opportunities for rehabilitation or education. Training for a match helps center the contestants and fills up their days with gym time. It also makes work for scores of other prisoners, who serve as coaches, cutmen, sparring partners and masseurs. These crewmen develop strong bonds with their boxers and each other, as well as a sense of purpose. Between rounds, they crowd into the corner of the ring, whispering encouragement to their fighters.

Most important, the contests provide two commodities that are in extremely short supply in Thai prison life: a chance at redemption and a source of pride.

“Muay Thai is a strong part of Thai culture,” says Aree Chaloisuk, the director of Klong Pai. “I think the fighters are proud to participate in the program. From what I have seen, it can improve bad behavior and provides an opportunity for a career for inmates after they leave prison—they can compete instead of becoming criminals again.”

Seen in this way, the commutations issued by the prison aren’t rewards for violence; they’re rewards for pursuing a vocation other than crime. In fact, many American prisons run similar sporting programs. There are boxing teams, football and basketball squads and, at Louisiana’s Angola prison, the famous inmate rodeo competition. While these programs aren’t directly attached to “earning time,” in certain prisons inmates can reduce their sentences for good behavior—and what better way to exhibit good behavior than practicing good sportsmanship.

Peter Moskos, an associate professor at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, argues that such athletic programs offer inmates a rare opportunity for self-improvement. “It’s really easy to forget how cruel prison can be,” he says. “I think that in the name of humanity, you’ve got to give people some way to better themselves. After all, even if it’s not always carried out, remember that the whole purpose of prison is ostensibly to help people.”

Chalernpol Sawangsuk’s life was never easy. A stern-faced, taciturn man, he grew up north of Bangkok, in a poor family, and was raised mostly by his grandmother and mother. He joined a Muay Thai gym at the age of nine and competed successfully at the amateur level for a couple of years. But many of his childhood friends were joining gangs, and he was tempted by the criminal life and all the possibilities that came with it—the money, the cars, the women.

By the time he hit 16, Sawangsuk was making a good living working as muscle for various criminal organizations. He had the toughness for it, and the smarts. Then, three years ago, at the age of 23, he was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 10 years.

Sawangsuk spent his first year in prison the way most inmates in Thailand do: He smoked black-market cigarettes; he allowed a friend to cover his entire torso in an elaborate tapestry of ballpoint-ink-and-sewing-needle tattoos; he grew fat; he lost contact with his family.

At the beginning of his second year, he heard about the Muay Thai program. To be eligible, you needed only to have a sentence of a decade or more and a background in Muay Thai. Sawangsuk had both. So he set about getting himself back into shape.

He had always been a natural fighter––patient and outwardly calm, with a capacity for explosive brutality that could stun his opponents into submission. And yet, in the outside world, the trappings of the gangster life had too easily distracted him.

In prison, there wasn’t a lot of room for distraction. Sawangsuk trained relentlessly, typically from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a two-hour break at midday, when the tropical heat congeals into a damp, impenetrable soup. He ran, he jumped rope, he sparred. He also meditated.

“It was a big change to my life,” Sawangsuk says. “I think the program has helped me become more focused. I’ve slowed down. I think about things more. I’m more reasonable. I’ve seen myself grow up.”

Although many of the prison tournaments are staged among inmates, the bout we’re witnessing today pits the Klong Pai guys against pro fighters from Australia, North America and Europe. The bill is the work of a thirty-something Estonian businessman named Kirill Sokur, who teamed up with the Thai Department of Corrections earlier this year to help stage fights, such as this one, between inmates and outside professionals.

The name of Sokur’s organization, Prison Fight, is simple and straight to the point. In exchange for setting up the bouts and providing the equipment, Prison Fight receives a fee from the Thai government; it also has the opportunity to scout top talent from the prisoner pool. Fighters like Sawangsuk, when free, represent incredible potential for a savvy promoter––the bad guy turned good. The prisoners, in turn, have a shot at going legit.

“Giving these guys a ring and an opportunity to prove themselves in front of the rest of the inmates––and the world, actually––that’s pretty important,” Sokur says.

In the moments before Sawangsuk and Burton resume their fight, the ringside inmates of Klong Pai crowd the edge of the canvas, jockeying for the best view. Half the prison has been invited to the event, but not everyone can fit in the pavilion, so a tiered seating structure has been jerry-rigged. Prison officials and local politicians sit on a big dais above the ring; prisoners on particularly good behavior (identified by pristine white shirts) sit on folding chairs arranged in tidy rows on the floor; the rest of the inmates are arranged willy-nilly against a nearby chain-link fence.

As the second round gets underway, the roar from the crowd is deafening. Sawangsuk turns and nods. In some sense, he is fighting for his fellow inmates, too.

The first round went decisively to Sawangsuk. Now he turns up the intensity, pummelling his opponent with feet and knees and fists. Burton does his best to shield his face, but a number of punches get through, the heaviest of which make his ankles wobble. It’s not looking good for the Brit.

The inmates howl over the tinny sarama music being played, and the black-shirted referee raises his hands to stop the fight and restore order. Despite the delay, Sawangsuk stays focused, eyes narrowed. When the referee gives the signal to resume, Sawangsuk rips forward with shocking speed, catching Burton in the chin with his elbow. Burton tumbles down in segments. The top half of his body flops out of the ring. He does not wake up for a full 10 seconds, and even then he looks dazed. The fight is over.

Afterward, in the small, sweltering, makeshift trainer’s room in one of the prison barracks, Sawangsuk stands surrounded by his crew, one of whom tenderly unwraps the tape on his hands, while another wipes the oil off his shoulders and neck. “It went the way I thought it might,” Sawangsuk says of the fight. “Just a little bit faster.” His friends laugh appreciatively.

After his release, Sawangsuk says, he plans to accept Sokur’s offer to fight professionally. But first he is heading to a monastery in the south of the country, where he says he will don saffron robes, shave his head and serve as a Buddhist monk for three months. “The other life,” he says, “I think it’s really behind me.”

MATTHEW SHAER is the author of The Sinking of the Bounty: The True Story of a Tragic Shipwreck and Its Aftermath. He writes for New York, Harper’s and others.

Lampang prison officials were stunned to discover a prisoner had tried to conceal a mobile phone smuggled into the jail by swallowing it and carrying it in his stomach. Narong Juiset, director of Lampang Correction Institution for Drug Rehabilitation said, the prisoner was sent to a doctor after he developed a stomach ache. An x-ray revealed he had what appeared to be a mobile phone inside his stomach. He underwent an operation to remove it, and it proved to be a small Samsung mobile.

Mr Narong said searches had since resulted in the seizure of 12 mobile phones that were being hidden in this life-threatening fashion. It was extremely dangerous as the phone could obstruct the digestive system and cause death. Mr Narong said the phones were smuggled into the prison by visitors, and the concealed by the prisoners. More stringent searches will be made of items carried in by visitors, to prevent further smuggling of illegal items to inmates, he said The Lampang correction institute is the largest in the North, holding more than 1,000 male inmates on drug-related cases.

An inmate from Phuket Prison was electrocuted during an escape attempt.

A remote-controlled helicopter was used to smuggle drugs and mobile phones into Khon Kaen Central Prison on Sunday. The aircraft flew over the walls of the jail and headed to Zone 2 in the early morning hours and dropped a box wrapped in grey duct tape near the bathroom area, Khon Kaen governor Somsak Suwannajarit told a news conference.

It was picked up by a radio frequency sensor system installed around the prison. Authorities collected the box and found 4kg of crystal methamphetamine, or ya ice, three mobile phones with SIM cards and battery chargers and sharp metal objects.

Officials conducted a search in a one-kilometre radius around the prison to track down the person who controlled the helicopter but failed to find the suspect. They found the aircraft left with the engine still running in a drainage canal about 150 metres from the facility.

After the incident, authorities searched the prison and confiscated numerous prohibited items, mostly sharp objects. No illicit drugs were detected, Mr Somsak said. Wuthichai Jenwiriyakul, the prison’s commander, believed the helicopter belonged to a major drug network attempting to deliver drugs into the prison but apparently they dropped the parcel at the wrong spot.

The seized aircraft had a camera installed at the front and was estimated to cost between 700,000 and one million baht. It was believed to be the same remote control aircraft used to drop a box containing three mobile phones into the prison last month.

Mr Wuthichai said a mobile phone could fetch 100,000 baht once it is smuggled into the prison and sold, according to inmates. Investigations are underway to find the suspects behind the drug smuggling by the costly remote control helicopter.

More than 600 Burmese prisoners have been released recently in Thailand, Burma’s Deputy Home Affairs Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Zan Myint said in parliament on Friday.

The deputy minister was speaking in response to a question by Thein Nyunt, MP of Thingangyun Township.

“I had a chance to read out in parliament a letter sent by some of these prisoners,” said Thein Nyunt. “Firstly, there are differences between the reality and what was said by the foreign minister and home minister in Parliament.

“Firstly, according to their letter, Burmese prisoners have to work harder than Thai prisoners. Burmese prisoners are not fed as well as Thai prisoners in both quality and quantity. When doing exercise, Burmese prisoners get different rights from their Thai counterparts. And another thing is that Burmese prisoners do not get the same medical treatment as the Thais.”

Since Burma achieved independence in 1948, there have been no prisoner exchanges between the two neighbours. However, Thein Nyunt said that he was going to try to revive an agreement during this parliamentary term.

Thein Nyunt said he had been told that there are about 10,000 Burmese currently detained on various charges in Thai prisons – 3,000 long-term and 7,000 short-term.

Some Burmese prisoners were expected to be released in an amnesty on 5 December, the birthday of Thailand’s king. However, due to the unstable political situation in the country, no amnesty was declared.

Photography is not normally allowed in prisons in Thailand. The only way we can get to see every day life in prisons is through pictures secretly taken on mobile phones and uploaded to social media. Another source of pictures are the ones taken by the local media who are often invited when a raid is being carried out at a prison. These pictures are by online media Naewna and were taken during such a raid at Chiang Rai Central Prison.

What is interesting about these pictures is that you can clearly see the amount of space allocated to each prisoner. Each space is also given a number and so you can see that in this small cell there are at least 26 inmates.  I say at least as there might be be another row going the other way down the middle. At the far end of the room, there is a low wall (see picture above) with an open entrance way. Behind this wall is the squat toilet.

There aren’t any beds as you can see. When prisoners first arrive they are only given a blue sheet. At some prisons they might not even be given that. There is a lot of overcrowding and resources are limited. At Chiang Rai Central Prison there are 5,177 inmates, 80% of whom are there on drug charges. If an inmate has any money, he can buy a thin matteress & other bedding. There are no pillows, but they can stuff a pillow case with clothes.

The Department of Corrections made known that the recently introduced electronic monitoring tags have so far been used on 39 offenders.

Over 200 monitoring tags have been sent to the department for its pilot project. Bangkok will first implement the initiative and if it proves successful, 3,000 additional tags will be introduced to correction facilities in 19 other provinces nationwide.

The tags are being fitted to offenders who committed minor crimes such as drunk driving or street racing. The tags enable authorities to track their position through the use of GPS technology and location verification units.

It is part of a plan to ease the massive overcrowding in prisons and juvenile homes across the country, releasing selected inmates into home detention.

Prison inmates should be allowed to have sex with their wives or husbands twice a year, according to the author of an academic study into sex in Thai prisons.

Siriwan Kraisurapong, a lecturer at Mahidol University’s Faculty of Social Sciences, said researchers have carried out five studies into sex in Thai prisons since 2010, all of which indicate that ‘prohibited’ sexual activity is commonplace in both female and male prisons across the country.

“Many inmates engage in sexual activities in exchange for money, sexual fulfilment or security,” Ms Siriwan said. “They may also want to temporarily break away from rules and regulations, or just want to relieve the emotional distress of being confined.”

Inmates may participate in oral or anal sex or use objects for sexual gratification, she added.

The academic said studies had found that dominant members in prison gangs have special tattoos to identify the fact that they take their pick of inmates. Their chosen partners are often physically weaker and forced into taking part in sexual acts against their will, she said.

Ms Siriwan said research indicates that female inmates tend to create prison “families”, where one member takes the “husband” role and another plays the “wife”. The “husbands” cut their hair short and wear binders to flatten their chests, while the “wives” take care of their partners and express jealousy, she said.

“The inmates may be straight but want to be happy whilst they’re doing time. They also know that these things only happen within their cells and that society is not aware of what’s going on,” Ms Siriwan said.

According to studies conducted in foreign countries, some prison guards and wardens are known to sexually exploit inmates. No studies into the issue have been carried out in Thailand but it is likely that such incidents occur in Thai prisons, the academic said.

“Thailand still has no clear policy on the sexual activity of inmates and the authorities have made no real effort to intervene. This could easily lead to sexual violence in prisons,” she said.

She added that relevant agencies must be more aware of inmates’ sexual orientations and educate prisoners about disease prevention, since they are considered a high risk group for contracting HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis.

“We should not see having sex in prison as wrong when it actually helps ease inmates’ stress. But it is important that both sides mutually agree and that they’re not forced,” she said.

“Inmates in foreign countries can ask for condoms. Another thing that has never happened in Thailand is to allow inmates to stay with their partners, maybe for two days a year.

“Sex is natural but inmates have all their rights taken away. Try to imagine what it’s like for those who are sentenced to 20 yearsin prison and no longer have this right.”

A joint team from the Nepali embassy in Thailand and the Non-Resident Nepalis Association in Thailand (NRNA-Thailand) has learnt about the condition of Nepalis serving jail terms in Thai prisons. 

The team comprising Charge d´Affaires at the embassy Dor Nath Aryal, NRNA-Thailand President Khagendra Raj Dhakal and embassy official Hari Bahadur Thapa has learnt about the condition of Nepalis doing time in Thai prisons. 

According to Dhakal, the prisoners requested the embassy to take the initiative to seek a royal pardon for them so that they would be able to return to a normal life back in Nepal. 

Altogether 70 Nepalis are serving jail terms in various Thai prisons. The team held meetings with Nepalis inmates at Bang Kwang Central Jail and the Central Women´s Jail in Thailand on Saturday. While 21 Nepalis males are in Bang Kwang, nine women are doing time in the Central Women´s Jail. 

Other Nepalis are in Klong Prem Prision and Chiang Mai Prison. Most of them were arrested on charges of drug smuggling. 

According to Dhakal, the inmates whom the joint team met on Saturday requested them to take the initiative to let them serve their remaining jail terms in Nepal itself. They complained that they were facing difficulties due to lack of knowledge of the Thai language. 

Altogether 24 countries have reached an agreement with Thailand under which their nationals in Thai prisons can serve the rest of their terms in their own respective countries. Nepalis in Thai prisons can also be taken to Nepal to serve their remaining jail terms once Nepal inks a similar agreement with Thailand.

Dhakal of NRNA-Thailand said most Nepalis in Thai jails seemed to be innocent and illiterate people who had been used by those involved in smuggling illegal drugs. He said there is a need to organize awareness programs to prevent innocent Nepalis being arrested under such circumstances.

A British tourist accused of stealing a moped in Thailand was beaten to death in jail by a fellow inmate while in prison, an inquest has heard.

Sean Flanagan died after a man allegedly jumped onto his body with both knees before pressing down on him so hard he suffered broken ribs and ‘blunt-object trauma’.

Yet it took Thai authorities eight months to begin an investigation into the death, following pressure from the victim’s family.

Initially, the authorities had claimed that Flanagan had fallen off a wall but another prisoner at Pattaya Remand Prison has now been charged with his manslaughter.

Mr Flanagan, 46, divided his time between his home at Dalton, Cumbria, and Thailand, where his girlfriend lived.

Ian Smith, the coroner for South and East Cumbria, concluded Flanagan’s death was due to ‘injuries following an assault or assaults’.

A post mortem was carried out on April 24 after his body was repatriated, the inquest at Barrow Town Hall heard yesterday.

The cause of death was recorded as blunt chest trauma, but bruising to the face, abdomen and limbs was also noted.

DCI Bob Qazi, who has been liaising with the Flanagan family, said: ‘The doctor concluded she is in no doubt he was the victim of a serious assault with rib fractures and bruising to his body.’

Flanagan was arrested last March and accused of stealing the moped and taken to Pattaya Remand Prison two days later where he was said to have been behaving unusually.

DCI Qazi said: ‘It was said by several people he was losing his self-control, refusing to sleep and exhibiting violent behaviour. The gist of it was he was disturbing other prisoners and irritating them.’

On March 29, he was visited by embassy officials who discovered that he was in a wheelchair, heavily bruised and speaking incoherently.

Prison officials said that the injuries had been caused by Flanagan falling off a wall and into a drinking trough. It was later revealed that he had been attacked. A second, and fatal, assault occurred sometime after the embassy official’s visit.

It was not until November 2013 that the Thais began an investigation.

DCI Qazi said: ‘Mr Flanagan was assaulted by a man who admitted to jumping on his body with both knees, pressing his knees into Mr Flanagan’s chest for a period of time.’

The man, who has not been named, has since been charged with the Thai equivalent of manslaughter.

Summing up, Coroner Smith praised Flanagan’s family, DCI Qazi and the office of Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock for helping push for an investigation.

In a statement, Flanagan’s family urged the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to do more to support families in similar situations.

‘It is vital that the Foreign Office improves its communications system and realises that it is dealing with people and not case numbers.

‘Sean, we will miss you terribly.’

Flanagan was arrested after he went into a pawn shop and took a moped, according to a report in The Pattaya Daily News at the time.

He was charged after driving the moped to a nearby hotel, but denied the theft, the newspaper reported.

Flanagan’s friend Steven Strefford, 53, from Walney, Barrow, said: ‘One of my mates rang me straightaway when he got the news. He got done for nicking a moped and then banged up.

‘It’s a hell of a shame. I have known Sean a lot of years and he was one of those guys who, if you wanted a hand with anything, he would be there for you. We had some good laughs, we used to go out fishing together and he was an absolutely blinding lad. I couldn’t believe it when I heard. He was just a cracking guy.’

Although he returned to Barrow frequently to see friends and pick up work, Flanagan had travelled all over Asia, Africa and Europe, he said.

Mr Strefford added: ‘I tried to keep in touch with him, but he was always jaunting all over the place. He would always be back here for two or three months and get a bit of work somewhere and then be off out there somewhere.

‘He would always come back to see his mates, he will be sadly missed.
‘He did anything and everything; he could always turn his hand to anything. If there was job to do, he would do it.’