Thai Prison

  • Thailand News

    Fire breaks out at prison in Bangkok, inmates and officials unharmed

    A fire broke out at Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok‘s Chatuchak district at 10.40pm last night. Fortunately, no inmates or officials were injured in the incident. The fire was reported to Pracha Chuen Police Station, which later worked with Lat Yao Fire Station to bring the blaze under control. The fire originated in a single-story structure within the prison…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket prison inmates to train as boatbuilders in rehabilitation project

    In a bid to provide vocational training and equip prisoners with valuable skills for their post-release lives, ten inmates from Phuket Prison are set to begin training as boatbuilders on May 8. The project comes after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Phuket Provincial Prison and Roeng Varee boatbuilders, based in Chalong. The signing took place at Phuket Provincial…

  • Thailand video news

    Are there ‘VIP ROOMS’ in Thai prisons? | GMT

    The latest episode of Good Morning Thailand is set to be an exciting one. The show will begin with a discussion on the controversial Thai horror movie, which has been met with a lot of criticism from censors. The filmmakers of the movie will be on the show to demand that the censors reverse their decision. The show will then…

  • Crime News

    Dept of Corrections denies existence of ‘VIP rooms’ in Thai prisons

    Contrary to allegations in the media that inmates in Thai prisons can buy their way into an air-conditioned, smoking room with unlimited TV, the Department of Corrections says there is no such thing as a VIP room when you’re behind bars in Thailand. On Tuesday, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Corrections Sitthi Suteewong said he would like to clarify several points…

  • Crime News

    Australian drug trafficker breaks silence on hellish 7 years in Thai prison

    An Australian woman convicted of drug trafficking has broken her silence about her hellish seven years behind bars in a maximum-security prison in Bangkok, Thailand. Holly Deane-Johns was spared the death sentence and handed 31 years in prison in 2003 after pleading guilty to attempting to post 10.6 grams of heroin from Thailand to Australia in 2000 when she was…

  • Crime News

    Convicted South African drug trafficker writes letter from inside Thai prison

    A 23 year old South African woman serving a long prison sentence for drug trafficking wrote an eloquent letter offering a glimpse into how it feels to be locked away in Thailand. Ashley Oosthuizen was found guilty of international drug trafficking after she signed for a package containing MDMA at the restaurant she worked at in Koh Samui, ‘Hot in…

  • Thailand video news

    World Cup to be shown in Thai prison | GMT

    World Cup to be shown in Thai prison. The first cruise ship in three years docks at Samui Island. Khao San Road calls out for help. Thai government ends popular co-payment stimulus measure. – all are coming up today. Check out other news or watch a news report on Thaiger’s youtube channel

  • Thailand video news

    Thailand News Today | Tourism minister joins Full Moon Party on Koh PhaNgan

      The Full Moon Party week is just wrapping on the island of Koh Phangan, and while attendance was down, there was at least one special attendee that could influence the future of the party. Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn visited Haad Rin, home of the iconic party that draws tens of thousands of tourists to the island…

  • Crime News

    More than 3,000 ‘cannabis convicts’ to be released from Thai prison tomorrow

    Tomorrow, 3,071 prisoners locked up for cannabis-related drug crimes will be released from prisons all over Thailand. Thailand’s Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin ordered the Department of Corrections to release the prisoners tomorrow, June 9, when cannabis will be delisted as a Category 5 narcotic. Currently, there are 4,075 inmates in Thailand convicted of marijuana-related offences. A total of 3,071 of…

  • Thailand video news

    Thailand News Today | Travel rules to ease in Thailand? Prisoners drinking hand sanitiser

    A government spokesman has confirmed that Thailand will remain neutral on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The spokesman said due to the threat by Covid-19, Thailand doesn’t want any international conflict to worsen the public health crisis. He also restated what foreign ministers have said, that all parties should exercise “maximum restraint”. He stressed that PM Prayut has supported a policy of…

  • Thailand video news

    Thailand News Today | Thailand backs UN resolution against Russia’s invasion

    Thailand voted in support of a UN resolution against Russia’s invasion, demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces” from Ukraine. A total of 141 out of the 193 member states voted for the resolution at the UN General Assembly emergency meeting at its New York headquarters. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said in a previous statement…

  • Thailand video news

    Thailand News Today | Tourism industry pushes for scrapping of Thailand Pass and PCR testing

    Key figures in Thailand’s tourism industry have renewed their calls for the Thailand Pass and PCR testing on arrival to be scrapped. Speaking at the Thailand Tourism Forum in Bangkok yesterday, the chairman of global hotel operator Minor International, renewed his call for the government to ditch the Thailand Pass system. Bill Heinecke has been vocal on issues affecting tourism’s…

  • Thailand video news

    Thailand News Today | Suspicions over Thai actress drowning

    Many Thais are speculating that the drowning of the Thai TV actress Tangmo in the Chao Phraya River was not an accident and police now say they are going to use a lie detector during interrogations. Reports say the 37-year-old woman had gone to the back of the speedboat to urinate but had fallen in at around 10:40 pm Thursday…

  • Thailand video news

    Thailand News Update | Covid flight risks & Forced labour in Thai prisons

    Thai Department of Corrections denies brutal portrait of forced labour, violence, and coercion in Thailand’s prison system. 37 percent of Thais support no political party and believe there is no suitable leader for the role of prime minister. CCSA is warning that the chances of catching Covid-19 on flights has increased because of the more transmissible new Omicron variant. Health…

  • Thailand video news

    Thailand News Today | Thai parliament considers building casino complex

    Thailand is taking the proposal to legalise gambling very seriously. Meanwhile, the government finally decides it wants to give financial assistance to people in the entertainment industry…after over a year of shutting them down. All the latest headlines from around Thailand.

  • Thailand video news

    No holidays for Thai Police, Southern Thai dance gets heritage status | GMT

    Police have been banned from time off over Christmas and New Year holiday. 9 prisoners who had escaped from prison have been captured and sent back to prison. A young women called Zara is heading towards Phuket in her quest to be the youngest women to fly around the world. Join Jay and Natty as they go through these stories…

  • Covid-19 News

    Friday Covid Update: 2,290 new cases, provincial totals

    2,290 new cases and 27 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the total infection count since the start of the pandemic last year to 189,828 and the death toll related to the virus to 1,402. Thailand now has 43,428 active Covid-19 cases. Bangkok remains the epicentre of infections with tight restrictions to control…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thursday Covid Update: 2,310 new cases, provincial totals

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration recorded 2,310 new Covid-19 cases today and 43 coronavirus-related deaths, raising the total count since the start of the pandemic last year to 187,538 Covid-19 infections and Covid-related death toll to 1,375. There are now 46,876 active cases. The active case count has been steadily declining over the past few days after the wave…

  • Crime News

    Inmate escapes from hospital in Rayong after Covid-19 test, arrested in Chanthaburi

    Still dressed in a hospital gown, a prison inmate hopped on a motorbike and fled a hospital in Rayong after being tested for Covid-19. He was arrested in the neighbouring province Chanthaburi and now faces theft charges for stealing the motorbike. The results from his Covid-19 test have not been released. Thailand has reported numerous Covid-19 outbreaks at prisons in…

  • Crime News

    Wesley Halbach remains in Thai jail for alleged involvement in SPM scam, chasing donations – UPDATE

    The Thaiger has been asked to remove the photo we posted from the GoFundMe page raising funds for Dutch citizen Wesley Halbach. He is currently waiting in a Thai jail for charges related to the money-making pyramid scheme SPM Shopping Mall said to have scammed thousands. A GoFundMe page has been set up, requesting donations to help pay bail, hire a…

  • Bangkok News

    Thai officials approve transfer of 3 Iranians involved in 2012 botched bomb plot in Bangkok

    Thai authorities are transferring 3 Iranian inmates to Tehran. The inmates were involved in the 2012 failed bomb plot, which Israeli and Thai officials say, was targeted at Israeli diplomats in Bangkok. According to Iranian state TV, the transfer was a swap. The report says 33 year old British-Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was incarcerated for the past 2 years on…

  • Crime News

    Expat in Koh Samui Prison on drug charges, nearly $3,000 raised to get her out

    A 21 year old South African woman is locked in Thai prison after she allegedly signed for a package containing 250 grams of MDMA, an ingredient in ecstasy, according to a GoFundMe account. People say she’s innocent and have raised $2,966 USD to get her out. She’s apparently facing drug charges that carry life imprisonment. Ashley Oosthuizen has been living…

  • Thailand News

    Overhaul of Thai justice system required to deal with prison overcrowding

    PHOTO: Scmp.com There are nearly 400,000 people behind bars in Thailand. 70% of the men in prison are there for drug-related offences. In the case of women, it’s 87%. Thailand has the highest number of prisoners in ASEAN, the sixth highest in the world. The notorious overcrowding for which the prisons are known is so bad that an inmate does…

  • Koh Samui News

    Meth-dealing Koh Samui bar owner attacked in Thai prison

    PHOTO: The Mirror A British man says he had three teeth knocked out and that going to a Thai prison for dealing drugs was ‘torture’. Jimmy Kelly was sentenced to 30 years but ended up spending just three behind bars for selling crystal methamphetamine at the bar on Samui he owned. His sentence was dramatically cut because his brother Gary…