Two young Chinese women were being taken into the Bangkok Remand Prison every Sunday to meet with two wealthy Chinese inmates in a guest room, possibly for sexual purposes, because condoms and spare underwear had been found in the possession of the women, said Pol Lt-Col Prawut Wongsrinil, director-general of the Corrections Department, today.
Prawut was among a delegation, led by Justice Minister Rutthapon Naowarat, who visited the prison today on a fact-finding trip.
Other senior officials on the visit included Justice Permanent Secretary Pongsawat Neelayothin, Yutthana Nakreungsri, spokesman for the Corrections Department, and Pol Lt-Col Anurak Rojnirunkit, deputy director-general of the Department of Special Investigation.
Justice Minister Rutthapon said today that his inspection of the prison was to uncover the truth about alleged abuses, implicating prison officials and that he wants this scandal to be treated as a special case for investigation by the DSI.
Pol Lt-Col Prawut told the media that he assumed the office as the Corrections Department’s director-general on October 1st and, about a month later, he received complaints about alleged irregularities among some prison officials, including Manop Chomchuen, the prison’s commander.
He said he reported the alleged irregularities to the justice permanent secretary and was advised to conduct an investigation to verify the allegations.
After two weeks of clandestine investigations, he said he had collected sufficient incriminating evidence against a number of prison administrators and planned a raid on the prison on Sunday November 16.
Citing the evidence, he said two young Chinese women were found to have entered the prison to see two Chinese inmates, probably to provide sexual services. He claimed that he has questioned one of the women, but she denied providing such services.
He claimed, however, that a stained bed sheet in the room has been sent to the Central Institute of Forensic Science for examination, adding that the two women are suspected to have had sex with the wealthy Chinese inmates.
During the raid on November 16, Prawut claimed that used condoms and tissues, possibly tainted with semen, were found on the floor of the guest room.
He also claimed that the prison commander was at the prison during the raid.
He disclosed that the guest room is about 10 square metres in size, complete with a sofa and a fridge and it is normally used as a guest room by the commander.
Regarding the CCTV system in the room, he said most footage has been erased, but his officials managed to retrieve some, including a Chinese women entering the room, adding that the two women have now returned to China.
