REHABILITATION, NOT PRISON, FOR OFFENDERS

Many drug offenders will be moved out of jails and into military and police
camps to relieve prison congestion, Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon
said yesterday.

Drug addicts should be put in rehabilitation programmes, not jails, he said.

The national police chief and armed forces commanders had been asked to
find camps that could best accommodate 80,000 of the 130,000 serving time
for drug offences.

They would be rehabilitated under the supervision of police or soldiers.

"Prisons are meant for serious criminals. We will propose new ways for the
courts to punish petty criminals," Mr Purachai said.

The government would also focus more on catching major drug traffickers
instead of arresting small dealers, the minister said.

The minister was yesterday briefed by Siva Saengmanee, director-general of
the Corrections Department, on the case of a jailed gunman who had been
allowed to spend his days running a business in Rayong instead of being in
Huay Pong prison.

Mr Siva said he had suspended two warders and transferred them to his
department pending an investigation into their suspected roles in the affair.

The prisoner, Nikon Jankasem, had also been moved to Thon Buri prison, Mr
Siva said.