New Phuket Provincial Prison reaches half-way mark

Speaking to The Phuket News today (Oct 19), Phuket Provincial Prison Commissioner Soontorn Dechraksa said, “Right now the construction of the new prison on 108 rai of land at Baan Bangjo in Srisoonthorn is at 51%.

“The new prison will be finished in either November or December 2019. This will make life inside the prison better than at the existing Phuket Provincial Prison in Phuket Town,” he said.

“Unlike the existing prison, when finished the new prison is complete and open it will be able receive prisoners who have to serve sentences of up to 30 years. At present, the existing prison only holds prisoners sentenced to a maximum of 15 years.

“In addition, there will be different zones holding different categories of prisoners. But details about these zones will be planned later,” he added.

Providing an update on the current number of inmates being held at the existing prison, Mr Soontorn said, “There are currently 245 female prisoners and 2,886 male prisoners at the prison in Phuket Town . The conditions are very cramped right now.” (See original story here.)