Lifting the bar on inmate welfare
Corrections Department boss debunks the bad image of Thai jails, writes King-oua Laohong
It is easy to imagine Kobkiat Kasiwiwat as a school administrator when he talks of the specialties of his “students”. But his actual scope of work has little to do with education. He is director-general at the Corrections Department and the students he refers to are in fact among his inmates at the 147 prisons nationwide.
After one of those jails recently attracted controversy over its supposed poor standards, he has stepped forward to clarify the conditions at Thai jails, saying they are not as bad as portrayed. In fact, the Corrections Department, which he has headed for seven months, is embarking on a programme to help inmates pursue an education and get back into society.
Modern Thai jails have become training-oriented centres, offering a range of courses from cooking to painting and yoga classes, he says. He was commenting in response to the recent ranking of Bang Kwang Central Prison as one of the world’s most notorious prisons.
He insists the jail does not deserve such a poor ranking. He says the government urges state agencies to clarify to the public if an agency is cast in a negative light, but in this case the claim is genuinely unwarranted. According to therichest. com — which calls itself as the world’s l eading source of shocking and intriguing content — Bang Kwang Central Prison is 10th worst for its poor conditions and treatment of inmates, ranging from overcrowded areas to shackling prisoners.
He said the image of Bang Kwang as portrayed in the rankings is based on the accounts of some foreign inmates jailed from the late 1950s. The experiences, which have been adapted and spiced up for novels, are exaggerated and outdated, Mr Kobkiat said.
In-prison shackles have been abolished since 2013. Detainees are handcuffed and have their feet shackled only when they are escorted to places outside prisons such as courts.
As prison management evolves, Mr Kobkiat says Thai prisons are now being developed as places to “adjust the behaviour” of wrongdoers rather than merely serving as areas to detain them.
Thanks to this commitment, an image of modern prisons as training centres emerges. The chief pointed to a wide array of courses that aim to help inmates improve their minds and create skills they can later apply to start their lives anew.
One course is Sakkasa Samathi, a meditation practice as a path toward heaven, teaches steps on how to keep away thoughts and worries and stay mindful. The practice, developed by the Wat Dhammamongkol abbot, Phratham Mongkhonyan, is being used as a basic mind development course for inmates.
Detainees may also join training sessions on cooking, hair cutting, and farming which can become their new careers.
Those with an interest in some specific subjects such as painting and traditional Thai arts can ask officials for a transfer to Thonburi Remand Prison which offers these courses, Mr Kobkiat said.
Inmates who are serious about pursuing studies can be transferred to the Central Correctional Institution for Young Offenders in Pathum Thani while those who enjoy more physical activities can take part in Thai boxing training offered at the two prisons.
“Some inmates became athletes and joined sports competitions, such as in Thai boxing, both domestically and internationally,” Mr Kobkiat said.
As for female inmates, they are offered yoga classes at Ratchaburi and Udon Thani prisons.
“Some are so good at yoga that they have won championships in international events,” Mr Kobkiat said, adding some inmates with an interest in this area turn to teaching yoga after being released.
Well-behaved inmates are also entitled to ask for grants as starting money for their plans to begin new jobs, he said.
These career and education-based commitments are helping build a new image for Thai prisons, a far cry from the old perceptions of jails as dark cells with harsh conditions.
Prisons’ standards in terms of facilities and the treatment of detainees also meets an international level. One example is that Thailand follows the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders, which aims to ensure acceptable treatment of female inmates, Mr Kobkiat added.
Pregnant inmates are given advice on motherhood, and their newborns are cared for by officials at nurseries in prisons.
“Mothers can breast-feed their babies at a specified time and we also have supplements for their children,” he said.
Prisons help female inmates take care of their babies for one year after which the babies will into the care of their families. An important goal of the department is inmates live in an environment that is conducive to instilling new habits in their minds.
However, Mr Kobkiat admitted, some parts of Thai prisons have yet to reach these new standards.
Prisoners at Khao Bin Prison in Ratchaburi, where security is tight, have no right to join training sessions, he said. The prison detains mostly drug convicts and many are repeat offenders, with some still secretly plying the drug trade behind bars.
At present, there are more than 300,000 inmates around the country and each day an average of 1,000 of them are released.
It is true some of them, especially drug convicts, tend to go back to offending, Mr Kobkiat said.
However, in terms of lifting prison standards and helping inmates pursue education and enter honest careers, Mr Kobkiat believes the department has to do its best.
Some inmates became athletes and joined sports competitions, such as in Thai boxing, both domestically and internationally. KOBKIAT KASIWIWAT CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR-GENERAL