Aussie teacher details horrific conditions inside Thai detention

[webfact]

Aussie teacher details horrific conditions inside Thai detention

A teacher has revealed his traumatic time locked in a cell with 130 other men, some of them in adult nappies.

Stephanie Bedo

 

Foreign detainees at an immigration detention centre in Bangkok in January during a visit organised by authorities for journalists. Human rights groups have for years condemned Thailand for its hostility towards asylum seekers. Picture: Romeo Gacad/AFPSource:AFP

 

Once behind bars in a Thai jail you are “no longer considered human”, according to an Aussie teacher who was detained for 10 days in Bangkok.

 

John knows this because his Thai girlfriend, who helped him while he was terrifyingly detained in November, overheard guards at the Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok refer to detainees as “it” instead of he or she.

 

“They treat them literally like animals,” the 29-year-old, who did not want to provide his last name, told news.com.au. “You’re no longer considered human once you’re in there"

 

Full story: https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/aussie-teacher-details-horrific-conditions-inside-thai-detention/news-story/d432a704bf0db1def6d79489ae1b830c

 

-- NEWS.COM.AU 2019-02-06

[canopus1969]

That is why it is called a Detention Centre  amd not the Amari  ????

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 minutes ago, canopus1969 said:

That is why it is called a Detention Centre  amd not the Amari  ????

 

Overstayers -- and beyond that even convicted criminals -- deserve to be treated humanely in any country, be provided sufficient and decent food and water while in custody, and some level of medical treatment when ill, etc etc.

 

Anything less is a violation of their human rights by those in charge.

[Lungstib]

Considering there has been no court case and no-one has been found guilty of anything (yet), detention should not resemble punishment. Holding a person is sufficient. Thailand has this awful problem as seeing immigrants and refugees as people deserving punishment rather than assistance.

[colinneil]

After reading the story in the link, i had a good laugh, and call him a cry baby, wanting media attention.

 

Only allowed 40cm width to sleep, same as normal prisons here, no toilet paper, what did he expect?

Thais dont use toilet paper like farangs do, most of them never use it to wipe their backsides.

Food only bones, no meat, same as other prisons here, plenty of rice and a bowl of gruel, normal in prisons here.

Girlfriend overheard guards speaking BS, she would never have been allowed inside.

No medical help again BS, whilst i was in Buriram prison ( in a cell with 104 ) a prisoner in my cell had a problem in the night, he was taken out for him to get treatment, ( what treatment how good ) i dont know.

He was here 2 years on tourist visas, of course he got lifted, he admits to working, so no wonder had problems.

[madmen]

How about medications for the sick? You can't just stop taking meds as it could result in seizures or even death.

I doubt they would retrieve or provide your life saving meds.

[balo]

He's obviously looking for media attention to earn a few dollars. What did he expect , a Norwegian prison that looks like a hotel room ? 

 

[MARK74]

"The Australian teacher had been living in Thailand for three years, two of those on a tourist visa"

and what were you really thrown in IDC for? working online or overstaying a year. I suspect the latter

[JimmyJ]

8 minutes ago, balo said:

He's obviously looking for media attention to earn a few dollars. What did he expect , a Norwegian prison that looks like a hotel room ? 

 

"balo" -  TVF psychic.

[simon43]

overheard guards at the Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok refer to detainees as “it” instead of he or she.

 

I have heard many Thai women of the 'night entertainment' variety use 'มัน' (meaning 'it') when referring to their handsome BF or husband...

[BringMeSunshine]

5 minutes ago, simon43 said:

I have heard many Thai women of the 'night entertainment' variety use 'มัน' (meaning 'it') when referring to their handsome BF or husband...

 

I've had travel agents refer to me with 'mun' while selling me a bus ticket or whatever.  I thought at the time that it seemed a bit rude.  Is is rude, in the Thai context?

[roo860]

After reading the story in the link, i had a good laugh, and call him a cry baby, wanting media attention.
 
Only allowed 40cm width to sleep, same as normal prisons here, no toilet paper, what did he expect?
Thais dont use toilet paper like farangs do, most of them never use it to wipe their backsides.
Food only bones, no meat, same as other prisons here, plenty of rice and a bowl of gruel, normal in prisons here.
Girlfriend overheard guards speaking BS, she would never have been allowed inside.
No medical help again BS, whilst i was in Buriram prison ( in a cell with 104 ) a prisoner in my cell had a problem in the night, he was taken out for him to get treatment, ( what treatment how good ) i dont know.
He was here 2 years on tourist visas, of course he got lifted, he admits to working, so no wonder had problems.

Bloody hell Col, I knew it was you in The Green Mile!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[colinneil]

Well old hippy, you posted a sad emoji on my post, having been detained in a Thai prison, i am fully aware of the conditions.

This Aussie who  wouldnt provide his full name is full of s++t.

Please let us know if you have been inside a prison here, and if so what were the conditions like.

[jacko45k]

33 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Only allowed 40cm width to sleep,

About the same as Economy on BA!

[HLover]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

locked in a cell with 130 other men, some of them in adult nappies.

Sounds exactly like a local pub decorated with balloons last Saturday night on the dark side.????

[Vacuum]

7 minutes ago, BringMeSunshine said:

 

I've had travel agents refer to me with 'mun' while selling me a bus ticket or whatever.  I thought at the time that it seemed a bit rude.  Is is rude, in the Thai context?

Mun; tipsy.

[BringMeSunshine]

13 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Mun; tipsy.

think that would be หมุน  (rising tone).  I'm pretty sure it was มัน  (mid-tone) as-per post 11 and the OP...

 

edit:

oh, มึน, I guess. But I wasn't (tipsy)

[bannork]

5 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Mun; tipsy.

Common as muck to call others mun among the working class

[Vacuum]

Quote

We weren’t even allowed toilet paper because it clogged up the toilet

Obviously his first trip to Thailand. I haven't used tp for decades...

[NCC1701A]

33 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Please let us know if you have been inside a prison here, and if so what were the conditions like.

Colin you know I live in Hua Hin. No point in leaving the house.  

[AGareth2]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

No medical help again BS, whilst i was in Buriram prison ( in a cell with 104 ) a prisoner in my cell had a problem in the night, he was taken out for him to get treatment, ( what treatment how good ) i dont know.

why were you there?

[colinneil]

1 minute ago, AGareth2 said:

why were you there?

Good question mate, ex and me had a falling out, she attacked me with a knife ( still have the scar on my stomach).

I shoved her on her a++e to stop her having another go, and i got locked up.

[humbug]

neighbours dobbing in a guy next door is pretty god damn cowardly, and now we can see the olde grass-a-foreigner hotline is easy to use for any local nationalists

[GarryP]

I use the word "mun" quite often when referring to others and not always in a derogatory way. It is quite normal here. Even Prayuth has been know to use it when referring to to fellow Thais (but in his case always used with deep disdain).  

[Kasset Tak]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

Well old hippy, you posted a sad emoji on my post, having been detained in a Thai prison, i am fully aware of the conditions.

This Aussie who  wouldnt provide his full name is full of s++t.

Please let us know if you have been inside a prison here, and if so what were the conditions like.

I have been inside Phichit prison, but not as a convict, I was there teaching once a week so I have talked with Thai inmates, I have talked with the guards, I have seen the cells (both for men and women as all of us teaching there had a guided tour around the prison) and I have never ever had better students!
Sure, the prisons are are crammed... Phichit prison was initially built for holding 500 male inmates but when I was there they had about 1400 male prisoners and 700 female prisoners, so over 2000 people crammed in to a space originally intended for 500 people. For example, I was told by the guard that the ladies only had about 30cmx150cm space to sleep and keep their things in the cell because their cell bloc was built to house 200 inmates... compared to the over 700 that are now crammed in there!!!
And they have healthcare if needed, doctors and nurses came there once a week and if there is anything acute, then they will take the prisoner to the hospital. And as I said, today prisoners (those who are behaving) are even getting education, usually vocational training so that they learn a trade, that way they can hopefully find work when they get out.

And for toilet paper, almost no toilets in Thailand are built to handle toilet paper as they have a tendency to use 2inch/45mm pipes while we in Europe would use 4inch/110mm pipes... and that's a big difference in how much crap the pipe can handle!

[sweatalot]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Overstayers -- and beyond that even convicted criminals -- deserve to be treated humanely in any country, be provided sufficient and decent food and water while in custody, and some level of medical treatment when ill, etc etc.

 

Anything less is a violation of their human rights by those in charge.

... and should be considered a crime punished with prison not less than 1 year

[from the home of CC]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

Good question mate, ex and me had a falling out, she attacked me with a knife ( still have the scar on my stomach).

I shoved her on her a++e to stop her having another go, and i got locked up.

lucky, she might of been trying to feed the duck..????

[Spock]

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

After reading the story in the link, i had a good laugh, and call him a cry baby, wanting media attention.

 

Only allowed 40cm width to sleep, same as normal prisons here, no toilet paper, what did he expect?

Thais dont use toilet paper like farangs do, most of them never use it to wipe their backsides.

Food only bones, no meat, same as other prisons here, plenty of rice and a bowl of gruel, normal in prisons here.

Girlfriend overheard guards speaking BS, she would never have been allowed inside.

No medical help again BS, whilst i was in Buriram prison ( in a cell with 104 ) a prisoner in my cell had a problem in the night, he was taken out for him to get treatment, ( what treatment how good ) i dont know.

He was here 2 years on tourist visas, of course he got lifted, he admits to working, so no wonder had problems.

Whilst the immigration prison's conditions are similar to other Thai prisons, this doesn't make the inhumanity exhibited to prisoners acceptable. The only point of agreement I have with your opinion is the toilet paper issue. Surely after 2 years the guy surely doesn't require toilet paper?

[Spock]

So healthcare is provided as required? My Thai mate in a provincial jail was in great discomfort and was given paracetamol to which he is allergic. He mailed me to ask me to help him get medical assistance. I flew from Australia and had a conference with the 'doctor' and 2 guards. For 2 months they had ignored the symptoms. Very reluctantly they agreed to take him to a hospital (I had to pay 1000 baht because his ID was for another province) where he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. 

 

Shortly after he spent a month in hospital and was so emaciated that his chains were deemed useless and removed. He was in a nappy and would not have survived without the presence of his wife (a guard was stationed outside his door). 5 months later, the prison 'doctor' neglects to renew his medication (4 lots) for a month and he then has to resume on different pills because the old ones are no longer effective.

 

The guards and prison staff could not have cared less about him. Had I not been the only foreigner visiting the prison, I am sure he would be dead. And of course, while he is crowded in with 80 men, they are susceptible as well. In fact, he was shunned because he was seen as infectious. 

 

So your prison might jump on acute cases but my experience tells me that this is not the case in all Thai jails.

 

[Rv Hawee]

3 hours ago, BringMeSunshine said:

 

I've had travel agents refer to me with 'mun' while selling me a bus ticket or whatever.  I thought at the time that it seemed a bit rude.  Is is rude, in the Thai context?

In oral language not too much. If you want a level, it's lower than normal oral language but higher than really vulgar.