BANGKOK: Some inmates in Thailand could soon get a provisional release as the government plans to reduce overcrowding in prisons in its fight against COVID-19.
A new wave of outbreak is sweeping through detention facilities nationwide. More than 100,000 people have been infected in Thailand since April, including some 18,000 prisoners.
The transmission of the virus among inmates has raised concerns over prison capacity. Data from the Corrections Department showed more than 311,000 inmates are incarcerated in 143 correctional facilities nationwide.
Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin has admitted that the inmate population is well over the capacity of what the prisons were designed for and has proposed a plan to resize it. The plan is currently being developed by the parole committee.
“Once released, they have to complete the quarantine period. The same standard of practice is applied. We won’t let out infected patients,” Mr Somsak told local media on Monday (May 24).
“They have to get tested in the hospital upon their release. This is a mutual responsibility. For us to bail anyone or do anything, it has to be done properly. We can’t allow them to spread infections.”
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However, there have been cases when former inmates tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after their release. Among them is political activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, who was detained at the Central Women Correctional Institution for nearly two months over a royal defamation charge.
She was released on bail on May 6 and found to be positive for the coronavirus after a swab test on May 10. Her family members have also been infected.