By Panu Wongcha-um and Chayut Setboonsarng
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Three blankets to sleep with, an open bathing area, bland food and the constant risk of violence.
These are the conditions inside the maximum security prison in Thailand’s capital where 76-year-old former premier Thaksin Shinawatra is jailed, according to two people with knowledge of the facility.
Once one of Thailand’s richest and most powerful men, Thaksin was ordered on Tuesday to serve a year in jail by the Supreme Court, which determined that the billionaire had wrongfully spent time in a hospital in lieu of prison.
Thaksin’s initial eight-year sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power while prime minister from 2001-2006 was commuted to one year, following his homecoming from self-exile in August 2023.
He was released on parole in February 2024, after just six months of detention, the entirety of which he had spent in the VIP wing of a hospital.
Since then, he has lived in a high-fenced, suburban mansion in Bangkok, often ferried around the city in a black and silver Mercedes-Maybach sedan and flown out of the country in a private jet.
An hour after the court delivered its verdict, Thaksin was placed in a van, escorted by Corrections Department officials, and, following medical checks, transferred to Klong Prem prison.
The facility, which houses some 6,500 prisoners, has held high-profile Thai political figures and a media mogul. Viktor Bout, an international arms dealer dubbed “the merchant of death”, is also a previous inmate.
“It is a very depressing life. When I first got inside, all I did was cry,” said Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, an activist and magazine editor, who served more than seven years in prison on lese majeste charges, including time at Klong Prem.
“The environment was very tense. It is not a friendly place.”
Reuters could not determine exactly which part of Klong Prem, a sprawling facility in northern Bangkok, Thaksin is housed in and the circumstances of his daily life.
The Corrections Department did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.
Winyat Chatmontree, a lawyer for the former premier, said Thaksin is currently undergoing a five-day quarantine, during which he is unable to meet or directly communicate with his client.
Somyot’s account of the prison was corroborated by a former Corrections Department official, who worked across Thai prisons, including Klong Prem for a decade, but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
‘SLEEP ON THE FLOOR’
The prison is divided into 11 zones, including a quarantine area where Thaksin was initially taken, separate sections for those serving sentences of more or less than 50 years and another special zone for high-risk inmates, according to the Corrections Department.
“Thaksin would be grouped with elderly political prisoners rather than murderers or drug dealers,” the former official said, explaining that depending on the grouping, he could end up in a larger room with only a few cellmates or in a smaller one with as many as 25.
“All inmates, regardless of age, sleep on the floor next to each other.”
Inmates are typically given three blankets: one to use as a mattress, another to roll into a pillow and a third to cover oneself with, the department said.
“If they are lenient, the prison may give four blankets,” said Somyot, “But this is a torturous way to sleep.”
The food served inside is excruciatingly bland, said Somyot, but more harrowing are the shower facilities, a large square tub of water around which inmates gather, naked.
“Bathing time is risky for assault or getting killed,” he said, describing the typical situation. “Prisoners could start a fight and it could escalate.”
Inmates are allowed out of their cells during the day to meet with visiting relatives or their lawyer, the department said in a statement on Wednesday.
‘BIG MAN’
Prison authorities would be particularly mindful of Thaksin’s security, given his political profile, personal history, and other inmates, said Somyot and the former official.
“Thaksin could face hostility from separatists angered by his insurgency policies as well as drug traffickers or the relatives of those jailed or killed during his premiership,” the former official said.
Given Thaksin’s influence, he may also draw other inmates who act as bodyguards and supporters, becoming what is known as a “somdet” – or “big man” – in Thai prison slang, both said.
It is unclear how much time Thaksin will eventually spend in jail, as he is eligible for detention outside prison, including house arrest, according to a source in the Corrections Department.
But it is still a downfall that may be hard to reconcile, as it was for Somyot.
“You lost your freedom, you lost your comfort, you lost your life in terms of politics and reputation,” he said.
“You have to come to terms with these losses.”
(Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Juarawee Kittisilpa; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
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