Somchai transferred to Chon Buri jail; moved to local hospital on arrival

Somchai Khunpluem, alias Kamnan Poh, was transferred from a Bangkok prison to a central prison in Chon Buri, his home province, on Monday after being arrested last week following seven years on the run.

An ambulance of the Medical Correctional Institute in Bangkok believed to be carrying Somchai arrived at the Chon Buri Prison at about 11.30am. No one could see who was inside the vehicle, the windows of which were heavily tinted. The vehicle was led from Bangkok to Chon Buri by a police car.

However, Amnart Pratyapan, Chon Buri Prison's warder, said that just 10 minutes after arriving at the prison, Somchai appeared fatigued and his blood pressure climbed to 150, which is considered high. He was also suffering from breathing difficulties so the prison decided to transfer Somchai to Ekkachon Hospital across the street.

A prison official confirmed Chon Buri prison has no hospital on the premises although there are doctors and medical personnel to take care of ailing prisoners. If an inmate is seriously ill, he would be transferred to Ekkachon Hospital.

The same official said it was believed Somchai would be housed in Zone 6 and relatives and families could visit him from noon to 3pm Monday to Friday.

Somchai, 74, who suffers from high blood pressure, had to be placed on a respirator on Friday after being transferred from his cell to the Medical Corrections Department inside a Bangkok prison. He however was conscious and able to talk.

The transfer to Chon Buri prison took place even though Kobkiat Kasiwiwat, the deputy director general of the Corrections Department, had said that Somchai's condition and his status as a local influential figure would be taken into consideration before any decision could be made on whether he would be transferred to the prison in Chon Buri, as there was no doctor to take care of him at that facility.