Mysterious Deaths At Khlong 5

[webfact]

Mysterious deaths at Khlong 5

By The Nation

Published on December 11, 2009

Mysterious deaths at Khlong 5

A man filed a complaint with the Pavena Foundation yesterday, saying that his brother, who had been sentenced to 15 days in prison instead of fined Bt3,000 for drunk driving, had died after spending just three days in a Pathum Thani prison.

Sai Boonthan, 43, told Pavena Hongsakul that he had been told on November 1 his older brother Apai, 44, had died and the death certificate said the death had been caused by internal bleeding in the chest, torn lungs and broฌken ribs. A police officer told Sai that Apai had fallen on his way to the toilet, though believed his brother's wounds showed that he had been beaten to death.

Pavena said this was the second death in Khlong 5 Prison, following the case of Sompop Netpai, another inmate who was allegedly beaten to death after serving just two days. Pavena said she would ask the National Human Right Commission and Justice Ministry to investigate both cases.

-- The Nation 2009/12/11

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[ukrules]

This is exactly the kind of thing you expect in a hel_l hole third world jail.

[Scott]

My condolences to the family. I hope they get to the bottom of this because these situations need to be clarified for everyone. A relatively simple and straightforward case should not result in death.

[ratcatcher]

This is exactly the kind of thing you expect in a hel_l hole third world jail.

Of course. there's no violence in the nice comfy jails in the civilized western countries eh?

There's more to this than is being told.

Condolences etc etc.

[Heng]

This is exactly the kind of thing you expect in a hel_l hole third world jail.

Yeah, give me San Quentin or Riker's Island any day. Total cakewalk.

[Credo]

The headline is a little misleading, but then I guess most headlines are. There is nothing mysterious about the death, the mystery is who did it and why.

[sunsamourai]

The headline is a little misleading, but then I guess most headlines are. There is nothing mysterious about the death, the mystery is who did it and why.

The mystery rather lies in what will the Human Rights Commission do about it, since its board has become so controversial, and apparently ineffective.

[TAWP]

Those are insane damages to try to blame on a fall.

[steverino]

I would suppose this was done by the inmates, not the prison guards. Not conforming to the system when new to Gaol (thats JAIL for our colononial friends) will cause a lot of problems in the prison social structure.

I would think the cover up by the authorities would be to save loss of face re. their inability to control these situations.

[clausewitz]

I visited that prison in last year (to bail out a friend) .It struck me as not beinga hard one to do time in. Certainly no worse than most countries, and easier than what I see on lockdown on Nat Geo (USA prisons)

[Sisaketmike]

This is exactly the kind of thing you expect in a hel_l hole third world jail.

He fell down on the way to the toilet? The question is: Who killed him? Was it one in uniform or another guy in his block? Let him rest in Peace……………………..

[MaiChai]

Thailand is a modern country in terms of infrastructure, technology, etc, but is still a third world country in terms of human rights, democracy, legal system and political system. I guess that is why its been a developing country for so long; roads and technology are easily implemented but modernising a corrupt legal/political/military run state where the actions of those in power cannot be questioned is much more difficult!

Thailand has nice weather, friendly people, good food, however when things like this happen (and they happen frequently), I wonder why I want to live here. My home country may be cold, but at least I can trust the people, government and people in power, and I will get a fair trial is something happens to me.

I know this sounds off topic, but this mysterious death does not surprise me and is not so surprising if you have been here some time. Maybe nothing that happens here surprises me. Hopefully someone more powerful than the perpetrator can realize their is a discrepancy here and can do the right thing and make an example of the person that committed this crime, to show that the prison service can operate as a transparent, accountable and clean part of the government.

[anon8]

I visited that prison in last year (to bail out a friend) .It struck me as not beinga hard one to do time in. Certainly no worse than most countries, and easier than what I see on lockdown on Nat Geo (USA prisons)

you bailed out a friend. you were not actually IN jail? But that particular jail did seem alright to you? This confirms what everybody knows: Thailand is amazing, has thousand smiles.. and Thai jails are nice!

Mystery indeed.. with ghosts and everything

[neverdie]

This is exactly the kind of thing you expect in a hel_l hole third world jail.

He fell down on the way to the toilet? The question is: Who killed him? Was it one in uniform or another guy in his block? Let him rest in Peace……………………..

Yes it sounds like he fell down on the way to the toilet, 568 times. Despite the question being, " Who killed him ? " I dont think theres going to be an answer forthcoming.

Very sad.

[IvanDobsky]

This is exactly the kind of thing you expect in a hel_l hole third world jail.

He fell down on the way to the toilet? The question is: Who killed him? Was it one in uniform or another guy in his block? Let him rest in Peace……………………..

if that's your daughter in the pic you posted, I hope she grows up in a country more developed than it is now.

quite disturbing, some of the stories about the police here and there. my son must be only a wee bit younger than that girl.

We can make a difference for their future, even if it is only on a local level.

[palusa]

This is exactly the kind of thing you expect in a hel_l hole third world jail.

Of course. there's no violence in the nice comfy jails in the civilized western countries eh?

There's more to this than is being told.

Condolences etc etc.

Constructive reply?. Yeh right!

Heart felt condolencies yeh? Thats Ok then etc etc

[Heng]

This is exactly the kind of thing you expect in a hel_l hole third world jail.

He fell down on the way to the toilet? The question is: Who killed him? Was it one in uniform or another guy in his block? Let him rest in Peace……………………..

if that's your daughter in the pic you posted, I hope she grows up in a country more developed than it is now.

Pretty easy to make your own pocket of 'first world-ness' here (in terms of where you live, where your kids go to school, the kind of society they keep, etc.), and I dare say the locals will make more of an attempt to stay out of your *first world zone* than other places in the world (including the first world) because they often truly believe that they cannot cross said line.