OVER 400 male prisoners at Krabi jail rioted all night over the large number of Covid cases among them and not being allowed to go outside for Covid medical treatment, Amarin TV said today (Dec. 17).
However this morning Pol. Col. Narong Laksanawimon, head of Krabi City police station, and Mr. Chaiwut Buathong, Mueang Krabi district chief, said the rioting within this prison holding around 2,000 inmates and located at Pak Nam sub-district, Mueang district, had stopped.
The hundreds of disaffected prisoners had broken out of their dormitory and then destroyed it after which they set fire to piles of garbage, forcing guards to retreat outside the prison with only armed officers remaining within.
This police station asked for reinforcement from the provincial crowd control unit and one company came in to support them. Pol. Col. Narong went in to negotiate with the prisoners and agreed that those infected with coronavirus would be taken for treatment outside.
However, as the field hospital could only accept 14 more patients only those with severe symptoms were admitted for treatment with three other prisoners injured by rubber bullets also being sent to Krabi Hospital for treatment.
At the height of the rampage 300 female prisoners were moved to a temporary jail in Krabi city because some male prisoners had tried to break into their zone.
Meanwhile the Public Health Ministry said there were 3,537 coronavirus cases and 41 deaths over the past 24 hours to this morning. This took the cumulative confirmed total since April 1 to 2,156,634 and since the start of the pandemic 2,185,497, Sanook.com said.
Today’s 41 fatalities raised the death toll to 21,327.
Another 5,459 patients were cured taking total recoveries since April to 2,093,265 with 43,479 still undergoing treatment.
CAPTION:
Scenes from Krabi prison during the overnight rioting. Photos: Thai Rath
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