Corruption behind bars

Thailand's prison system has courted controversies, among them reports of smuggling of goods such as cigarettes or mobile phones into prisons and mysterious deaths, such as former police Thitisan "Joe Ferrari" Utthanaphon, who committed suicide while held in Klong Prem Central Prison early this year.

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The prison system is a story of double standards. Fresh in our memory is the 14th floor saga — a VIP patient room at Police General Hospital where former premier Thaksin Shinawatra stayed from August 2023 to February 2024 as a substitute for serving his prison sentence in a standard prison cell.

Now, more recent reports involving the smuggling of women to Chinese inmates in Bangkok Remand Prison make other scandals pale in comparison.

The Department of Corrections (DoC) conducted a raid on the prison on Nov 16, uncovering a range of prohibited electrical appliances, including mobile phones, lighters, portable air-conditioning units, a refrigerator, a microwave and an empty box of condoms.