Purachai aiming to cut prison population

PHUKET TOWN: More prisoners are likely to be freed on probation to reduce the problem of overcrowding at Phuket Provincial Prison. The announcement was made today by visiting Justice Minister Purachai Piemsomboon. “The prison in Phuket is very old,” he said. “The number of prisoners is increasing but the budget and the number of prison officers is not. “Phuket [Prison] should hold about 600 prisoners but now we have more than 1,000 and the female part of the jail is even more crowded than the male.” He added that a new prison is to be built at Thalang, a more appropriate site than Phuket Town. The old jail is to become a public park. He warned that the 100-million-baht budget for the new prison could grow with new technology needs over the four years it will take to build.