Authorities:Prison riot in Thai South is now under control

TRANG, February 6 (TNA) - Thai authorities took hours Monday to put the situation under control, after hundreds of prisoners caused a riot at the Trang provincial prison in the Thai South following a warder transfer. Late Monday morning, over 700 male inmates set fire on tires and mattresses and used slingshots to throw stones at warders to protest against the transfer of a warder, as well as strict control and supervision on their gathering. Trang Governor Seni Jittakasem and Trang Prison chief Kris Wongwej negotiated with prisoners for over three hours and accepted all seven demands of the protesters, including an agreement to relax control, prompting most of the inmate rioters to end their protest. Although some prisoners had continued with their protest, the prison chief confirmed that the situation was under control, as over 100 leading rioters were separated and relatives’ visits were banned all day long. There are a total of over 1,600 inmates at the Trang provincial prison. Meanwhile, Police Colonel Suchart Wong-anantachai, Director-General of the Thai Ministry of Justice's Corrections Department, told reporters that the prisoners were frustrated with strict control by their new warder, but tough rules are now needed to prevent prisoners from drug abuses. Besides, the director-general said that corrections authorities would, probably, have to finally overpower rioters if negotiations did not bear fruit, and that the authorities are considering moving major drug convicts to the Khao Bin Prison in Thailand's central Ratchaburi Province. (TNA)