Infected inmate escapee from Koh Samui Hospital surrenders, says he got hungry

Petch PetpailinThursday, February 3, 2022Last Updated: Thursday, February 3, 2022

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Infected inmate escapee from Koh Samui Hospital surrenders, says he got hungry

Photo via Facebook/ สถานีตำรวจภูธรบ่อผุด

The inmate infected with Covid-19 who escaped from Koh Samui Hospital has reportedly surrendered to police. Apparently, he turned himself in to police because he got hungry. With prisons and correctional facilities requiring a quarantine period for all new inmates, and with a number of them testing positive for Covid-19, there has been an increase in prisoner escapes, according to Thailand’s Justice Minister.

The inmate on the Gulf of Thailand island Koh Samui, 30 year old Thawatchai “Toomtam” Kaewnopparat, was arrested on drug charges on January 20. He tested positive for Covid-19 in a routine screening required by corrections officials and he was transferred to the hospital for treatment. After he escaped, officials set a 20,000 baht bounty for anyone with information on the inmate’s whereabouts.

Reports yesterday said the inmate was picked up by a car outside the hospital, but the inmate says he actually went out a window and continued walking until he found a motorbike garage. He then sawed off his ankle chain. But reports say he didn’t have access to food or water and he got so hungry and thirsty that he decided to surrender.

Thai media says the inmate called the police at 10pm yesterday. Officers arrested him at a house in the Mea Nam sub-district of Koh Samui.

SOURCE: Khaosod

Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.