New releases

Send Them to Hell: The Brutal Horrors of Bangkok's Nightmare Jails

By Sebastian Williams

Published by Mainstream Publishing

Available at Asia Books, Bt495

 We've heard the tale countless times before: the westerner happily holidaying in Thailand who suddenly finds himself in the awkward position of having to explain the kilos of heroin the police have just found in his possession. Strangely, he always has no idea how it got there.

 But while many of those caught are undoubtedly drug dealers, innocent suspects will occasionally fall into the police web. Reading "Send Them to Hell" convinced me that Englishman Sly is one of the innocent victims, set up by new friends he met on Soi Nana (ah, that soi) -- a Kuwaiti Arab named Fahad and a German, Hansel.

 Sly got into trouble simply for being too nice. When Hansel told him he knew a rich Arab who was looking for a buyer for a bank's letter of credit, the author was instantly interested, hoping to make a quick buck with the deal. The Englishman agreed to drive the pair to the bank in his new car. Fahad's suitcase, which they said contained the Arab's holiday clothes for a trip to Phuket after the bank visit, had been stashed in the boot.  In the bank's fifth-floor car park, the men found themselves surrounded by a swarm of cops, who quickly unearthed packages of white powder from the suitcase. The find triggered events that led to Sly's 6,333-day sojourn in the Thai penal system, at Khlong Prem and Bang Khwang prisons.

 One wonders how the author could have been so repeatedly gullible, but equally jaw-dropping are the consequences: Thailand's penalties for drug smuggling are among the harshest on the planet.

No More Tomorrows

By Schapelle Corby with Kathryn Bonella

Published by Mainstream Publishing

Available at Asia Books, Bt495

 When 28-year-old Aussie Schapelle Corby was preparing to fly to Bali in October 2004 for two weeks of surfing and to celebrate her sister's 13th birthday, her biggest worry was simple: what sarong to wear with which bikini on the beach.

 Touching down on the runway, she had no idea the life she knew was about to end. While checking in her luggage at Melbourne Airport, Corby left her boogie-board bag unlocked with her name and address clearly displayed on it. A few hours later, she stood in shock as Denpasar Airport customs officers pulled a four-kilo transparent, pillow-sized plastic bag of marijuana from her luggage. Corby is sure that one of her friends in the group, or one of the mostly teenage Australian passengers on the flight, tucked the drugs into her unlocked bag after landing just before she went through customs.

 With the help of Australian journalist Kathryn Bonella who's been following Cory's case and her fight for freedom, Corby lifts the lid on the appalling conditions she is suffering after being sentenced to 20 years in jail. She describes how female inmates have to sleep alongside rats, feral cats and fifty fellow prisoners in a tiny, stinking, hot cell that is sometimes flooded with human waste. They live like caged animals, locked up for 15 hours a day. The book makes a strong case that Corby was a scapegoat. This reader finished it feeling she deserves our attention and help.

Reviewed by Manote Tripathi, The Nation