Expat Life in Thailand
  • Home
  • Food / Drink
    • Food and Drink Thailand
    • Food and Drink Bangkok
    • Food and Drink Pattaya
    • Food and Drink Hua Hin
    • Food and Drink Chiang Mai
  • Health / Beauty
  • Education
  • Travel / Leisure
    • Book Reviews
    • Activities and Adventure
    • Hotels and accommodation
    • Art and Culture
    • Lifestyle
  • Online Magazines
  • Home
  • Food / Drink
    • Food and Drink Thailand
    • Food and Drink Bangkok
    • Food and Drink Pattaya
    • Food and Drink Hua Hin
    • Food and Drink Chiang Mai
  • Health / Beauty
  • Education
  • Travel / Leisure
    • Book Reviews
    • Activities and Adventure
    • Hotels and accommodation
    • Art and Culture
    • Lifestyle
  • Online Magazines
Expat Life in Thailand

H.E. Mrs. Orna Sagiv Ambassador of Israel to Thailand

In July last year, H.E. Mrs. Orna Sagiv arrived in Phuket for 14 day quarantine and immediately resumed the duty…

Read more

H.E. Mr. Jose Borges dos Santos Junior, The Brazilian Ambassador to Thailand

In September last year, H.E. Mr. Jose Borges dos Santos Junior, Ambassador of the Embassy of Brazil to the Kingdom…

Read more

H.E. Mrs. C.A. Chaminda I. Colonne The Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand

February 4th marks the Independence Day of Sri Lanka. Expat Life sat down with H.E. Mrs. C.A. Chaminda I. Colonne, the…

Read more

H.E. Mr. David Daly the European Ambassador to Thailand

Expat Life in Thailand were honoured to sit down and talk to the new European Union Ambassador David Daly. Personally,…

Read more
News and Event

Black Caviar: An exquisite delicacy

Black Caviar is one of the world’s most exquisite and exotic foods. Fish roe that is from a sturgeon is considered…

Read more

SIMON LANDY’S INTERVIEW

We speak today to Simon Landy MBE, a long term resident of Thailand, highly successful real estate executive and property…

Read more

H.E. Mr. Mark Gooding the British Ambassador to Thailand

Expat Life had the pleasure of sitting down with H.E. Mark Gooding the British Ambassador to Thailand and discuss his…

Read more
Hotels and accommodationTravel and Leisure

Movenpick Resort Khao Yai

I write this from the terrace of what could be a castle in a fairytale. A German Palace in the…

Read more

H.E. Mr. Lindsay Kimwole Kiptiness, The Kenyan Ambassador to Thailand

Thailand and Kenya have enjoyed cordial ties and close cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1967. Kenya opened its…

Read more
News and Event

German ambassador visits CDSC Forest in Chiang Mai

On the 19th of November 2021, the German ambassador to Thailand Mr. Georg Schmidt visited the CDSC Forest in Mae…

Read more
Travel and Leisure

Hospitality industry… where your workplace is your home

The Covid-19 epidemic has affected everyone on the planet. It continues to do so and will impact the way we…

Read more

Expat Life French Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Mr. Thierry Mathou

Expat Life were honoured to have the opportunity to interview the French Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Mr. Thierry Mathou please…

Read more

A prisoner in Bangkok

by Barbara Lewis October 12, 2017
written by Barbara Lewis October 12, 2017
prisoner in bangkok-behind the bars

I visit a expatriate prisoner in the Lard Yao Women’s Prison here in Thailand. I won’t give her name for reasons of privacy and we will simply call her Miss C. She has no one here in Thailand to visit her except for another foreigner like myself who volunteers to do so. Her family, of which she has little left, live in the Philippines. She was arrested on drug
trafficking and sentenced to life imprisonment.

prisoner in bangkok-rest area

Her lot in life is not an easy one from wrong choices she has made. She admits she committed the crime under circumstances that left her perhaps with the inability to make the correct choices at the time.

She and her mother were very close. Her mother became terminally ill and she spent all her time with her caring for her in someway or another.

She was not close with any other members of her family according to her. When her mother died the grief and loss took over her life and she was in need of money, for what she did not say. It was at this time, in this state of mind that she was recruited to traffic drugs. She believed it was a quick way to make a large amount of money.

 

She has been in prison now, I believe, for about seven years. At different times during her sentence different types of amnesty have been given out and her sentence has now been reduced to 35 years. She currently waits in hopes of yet another gift of amnesty and perhaps the opportunity to get out permanently and go home. My understanding is that this is not something that is likely to happen, rarely does it occur, but at least she might get another reduction in her sentence. As I visit and speak with her I come to know a little about her life in prison. Since the beginning of her sentence she has worked. It sounds like all of the prisoners work in one capacity or another. Many of them are given education to massage so they will have skills once they are released.

prisoner in bangkok-washing area

In prison they do things like sew beads or sequins onto garments – this was her first job and it paid very little, was long hours and since she is suffering from cataracts in one of her eyes I am sure not a job that was easy to do well at. The prisoner’s pay and points they receive is based on how fast they work. Beadwork takes time so it is not easy to do it fast. Awhile ago she got a new job that is sewing piecework which pays more, she can do faster and she gets more
points for. Also sometimes to complete an order they need them to work overtime and so they then get to take a shower after other prisoners which means they don’t have to stick to the 10 count rule. That is correct. Each prisoner during their normal showering time has to the count of 10 to complete their shower. Needless to say she feels it is a real luxury not to have a count for showering.

 

The women prisoners are separated according to their sentences and new prisoners are not allowed to converse with prisoners that have been in for a while. They do this so that contraband cannot be passed between prisoners. All the women who have sentences greater than 30+ years are housed together and then those that have sentences of between 20-30 years, etc. I was told that almost all the women are in prison for drug and prostitution charges.

(Visited 291 times, 1 visits today)
Did you like this article? Become a Patron and help us bring you great content in the future!
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Barbara Lewis

previous post
Why is Friday the 13th ‘unlucky’? and why do we still care
next post
“THE TASTE OF MUSIC” GALA DINNER AND CONCERT

What is it good for …?

May 13, 2022

Pattaya…. city of many faces

April 8, 2022

Opening of Pha Kluay Mai-Haew Suwat Waterfalls Nature...

March 13, 2022

Hyatt Regency Sukhumvit

March 5, 2022

April-May 2021 Issue

EXPAT LIFE IN THAILAND FACEBOOK

Facebook

EXPAT LIFE IN THAILAND INSTAGRAM

Categories

  • Breast Cancer (2)
  • Education (278)
  • Expat Life (86)
  • Fashion (51)
  • Fiction (8)
  • Food and Drink (123)
  • Green (20)
  • Health and Beauty (306)
  • Interview (38)
  • Jobs & Internships (12)
  • Lifestyle (338)
  • Love and Relationship (96)
    • Family (62)
  • Magazine (16)
  • News and Event (622)
    • Updates (115)
  • NGO (26)
  • Poem (5)
  • Travel and Leisure (647)
    • Activities and Adventure (105)
    • Art and Culture (140)
    • Book Reviews (43)
    • Hotels and accommodation (84)
  • Uncategorised (64)
  • Women's Group (13)

Copyright @ 2021 - ExpatLife in Thailand Magazine | All Rights Reserved

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in articles posted on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Expat Life in Thailand magazine. Links to other web sites do not imply an endorsement of the materials disseminated at those websites, nor does the existence of a link to another site imply that the organisation or person publishing at that site endorses any of the materials at this site.