WITH the transfer of all 2,159 rioting male inmates at Krabi prison to jails in other provinces having been completed, 20 policemen and forensic officers clad in PPE suits went in to inspect the damage, TV Channel 7 said this evening (Dec. 18).
The rioting ended last night after crowd control police detained and moved 31 ring leaders and another group of inmates out of the prison.
This morning policemen, soldiers and correctional officials went in to screen and transfer the remaining 620 prisoners to other jails.
The majority were sent to the prison in Songkhla province while the 31 ring leaders as well as eight others had been sent to Khao Bin prison in Ratchaburi province since last night
The rioting prisoners had burned a dormitory, a handicrafts centre and a library and wreaked other damage. The fire was still not completely extinguished when the team went in with smoke arising from two to three spots.
Woodchips, blankets, shoes and clothes were scattered throughout the prison. The prisoners had used solid objects to demolish a water tank and steel rods to puncture holes in the prison walls. Canteen equipment was damaged with some objects flung over the prison walls.
The buildings that caught fire were almost completely gutted. It was found that the fire had started at the wooden dormitory building that is almost 80 years old before spreading to the other buildings.
The police team will be collecting all the details about the fire and assessing the total damage.
Mr. Aryutt Sintoppant, the director-general of the Corrections Department, told the press that about 20 percent of the over 2,000 prisoners were infected with coronavirus and they were being classified according to their symptoms. Some of them had been injured by barbed wire when they tried to escape.
He added that the 31 ring leaders were mostly serving long terms for drug offences and will be prosecuted for instigating this riot.
CAPTION:
The prison dormitory ablaze, above, and some of the rioting prisoners, Home Page. Photos: Sanook.com
Read earlier reports: Krabi prisoners start rioting again amid transfer move
Krabi prisoners riot to go out for Covid treatment
