Phuket death in custody accepted as suicide

Phuket Gazette

Lt Col Watcharin Jiratthikanwiwat of the Thalang Police (left) questions corrections officer Ariya Loylom (far side of table) over the death of Mr Theerayuth. Photo: Thawit Bilabdullar

PHUKET: -- A 28-year-old man, with a history of mental illness, was found hanged in the communal bathroom at Phuket’s Bang Jo Detention Center this afternoon.

The family of Theerayuth Thorthip, whose body was found at 4:20pm, have accepted the death as suicide, said police.

Mr Theerayuth was sentenced on September 10 to serve a minimum 45 days on a minor drugs charge with possible release on good behavior. At the earliest, he may have been released next Wednesday.

Lt Col Watcharin Jiratthikanwiwat of the Thalang Police, the same officer who arrested Mr Theerayuth, responded to the report that a man had died at the facility, called in at about an hour later.

During questioning by police, corrections officer Ariya Loylom said that he had ordered the inmates back to their rooms at 4pm, as usual.

When Mr Theerayuth was found to be missing from his quarters, officers launched a search and soon found his body in the communal bathroom, Mr Ariya said.

Mr Theerayuth was hanged by the neck by shreds of a torn prison blanket tied together, he added.

“We pulled him down and tried to revive him, but that didn’t work. We rushed him to Thalang Hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival,” Mr Ariya explained.

Relatives told police that Mr Theerayuth had a history of mental illness and had been on medication at the time of his death.

He had also previously received treatment at the renowned Suan Saranrom Hospital in Surat Thani.

As the family have accepted the death as suicide, the police will not continue any further investigations into the death.

The Bang Jo Detention Center is a low-security Department of Corrections facility operated under the responsibility of Phuket Provincial Prison.

The center is primarily used for inmates about to reintegrate with society after serving sentences at Phuket Provincial Prison or for people serving short sentences.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...cide-19217.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-10-20

I was reading that there are about 3 million people in Thailand in need of psychiatric care, a figure that I could quite believe. It's a mammoth task and I wish the Thais well in reaching out to these poor people.

Mental illness is a terrible affliction that can strike many people at some point in their lives, this man could be written off as just another statistic but he was somebodies son. I hope they can find peace and solace now.

yes ...same can be said for a lot of western countries as well ......yeah recreational activities nothing wrong is there .......

I was reading that there are about 3 million people in Thailand in need of psychiatric care, a figure that I could quite believe. It's a mammoth task and I wish the Thais well in reaching out to these poor people.

Mental illness is a terrible affliction that can strike many people at some point in their lives, this man could be written off as just another statistic but he was somebodies son. I hope they can find peace and solace now.

Whereas I agree wholeheartedly that mental illness is a terrible affliction, and often ignored as a major concern by those "uneducated" in the signs, it is a major concern to me that there is no need for a further investigation because the family have accepted that it was suicide.

The prison authorities recognised the mental issue (as he was on medication for it at the time) and with it being such a minor offence (possible release in less than a week) then you (rather I) would assume something triggered the incident. I would not consider it would be easy to premeditate something like this (preparing the strips from the blanket) and then carrying out the act in the "communal bathroom" without anyone being aware or involved.

Certainly not trying to start a conspiracy theory on this, just looking at a fuller picture. It maybe that the term prison communal bathroom freaks me out a bit when involved in incidents!

Ah, yes. Of course. The police who had the man in custody deemed it was suicide so no need for further investigation. Back to reading the paper. How convenient.

If by his own hand - sad. If by the hand of police or inmates, never mind - karma.

One flew over the cuckoos nest?