MAN IN THE RED SHIRT

Daily life in jail is not pleasant and we don’t have to experience it to know it. Movies and TV shows often depict the inside of a cell as a dirty concrete box with iron bars. From 2007 to 2014, conditions were much worse at the Crime Suppression Division with the presence of a haunting spirit. It is referred to as “man in the red shirt”, by many prisoners and officials, who have witnessed it in the building.

Chalard Senarat, who was arrested on rape charges, committed suicide in his cell by hanging himself with a piece of cloth. Since then, prisoners who have been imprisoned in the same cell or ones nearby always tell stories of being awoken up at night by a “man in a red shirt”. He, apparently, encourages them to hang themselves in their cells, advising that it is the only way to escape their sentence. According to reports, Sakchai Uttala, a high school teacher, charged with the rape of one of his students attempted to hang himself in the cell. Officials managed to stop Sakchai before he succeeded, only to find out later that once released from jail, he hung himself at home. Many traumatic experiences were reported by prisoners that officials decided to host religious rites in and around the cell, hoping to repel the spirit. But the situation did not get better. In 2014, they finally tore down the building and all the iron bars were melted down, with no intention of using any of the materials ever again.