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Published on October 6, 2007

The Corrections Department also plans to rigorously crack down on drug-dealing networks inside prisons.

Police officers from the Centre for Children, Juveniles and Women raided a house in Soi Ekkachai 109 belonging to prison official Chakpat Ongsri, 52, at 10pm on Thursday. They were following a tip-off that the house was open for youths, aged 15 to 20, to take drugs and have sex on weekends. Police seized marijuana, two grams of "ice" (crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride) and 100 pornographic movies. They also found many used and unused condoms in the house.

Chakpat reportedly told police that the "ice" was for his own consumption and that he had bought it from a drug convict named Jai. He reportedly said that sometimes inmates' relatives gave him drugs in exchange for better treatment. He also said that the porn was his own and the women seen visiting him were his girlfriends.

Chakpat was initially charged with possessing drugs for personal consumption.

Jaran yesterday told reporters that Corrections Department chief Wanchai Roujanawong had set up a committee to further investigate the case and suppress the drug networks in prisons. He has also instructed the authorities to severely punish Chakpat - currently suspended - who not only made a living on people's tax money, but had violated the law himself.

Wanchai will meet next week with directors of prisons nationwide to set a clear policy that if a prison official is found involved in criminal activity within the prison, the prison director will also be held responsible.

However, prison directors will be rewarded if they seriously crack down on such illegal activities.

The Nation