Prisoners riot during drug search

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Prisoners riot during drug search

25 SECURITY OFFICERS INJURED BEFORE NARATHIWAT GOVERNOR RESTORES ORDER

Published: 19/06/2011 at 12:00 AM
Bangkok Post: Newspaper section: News
 
NARATHIWAT : Twenty-five security officers have been seriously injured in a riot at the provincial prison.

The riot occurred while a combined force of more than 150 police, military and administration officers searched the prison's dormitory for drugs and other illegal items at about 7am yesterday.

Led by Dechrat Simsiri, a deputy Narathiwat governor, the operation was part of efforts to improve security measures at the prison.

The security force found and seized about 1,000 methamphetamine pills, ice, and more than 20 mobile phones that inmates had hidden in the dormitory.

Nearly 1,000 inmates were herded out of the dormitory to wait in grounds behind the office building of the prison while the search took place. Two or three inmates shouted out to the others to provoke the riot.

The officers decided to retreat from the dormitory as tensions rose.

The inmates then began throwing whatever they could find in the area, such as stones and wooden rods, at the escaping officers, who fled through a narrow passage.

The injured included Pol Lt Col Preecha Kimkliang, an inspector with Muang district police station in Narathiwat. They were rushed to a nearby hospital following the riot.

Narathiwat governor Thanon Wechkorakanon then arrived and stepped in to negotiate with the rioting inmates.

Speaking through a megaphone from the second floor of the dormitory, the governor encouraged the inmates who were not involved in the melee to separate from their rioting fellows.

The inmates at first did not respond but they later agreed to follow the order and then the security force was able to contain the situation and take the rioting prisoners under control.

The main reason leading to the riot was clearly that the inmates were upset by the dormitory search, said Chatchai Suthiklom, director-general of the Corrections Department.

Authorities were investigating the incident and questioning inmates suspected of inciting the violence.

Thanis Siyaphan, a deputy director-general, was assigned to follow up on the investigation into the riot, said Mr Chatchai.

Regarding the seizure of the mobile phones from the prison, Mr Chatchai said that the phones could be used by inmates to arrange for drugs to be smuggled into the jail for sale to other prisoners.

Although the use of a mobile signal jammer was a proven means to combat the problem, it was an expensive option, he said.

After installing the first mobile phone signal jammer at Khao Bin Central Prison in Ratchaburi province this year, the department was considering purchasing about five to six more such devices for installation at more prisons.

Corrupt prison officers could also be contributing to the drug-smuggling problem, said Mr Chatchai.

Over the past six months, 16 prison officers have been expelled over allegations that they were involved in the drug trade at their prisons.