Inmates face suicidal risks due to inadequate psychologists

BANGKOK, July 25 (TNA) -- The Corrections Department does not have enough psychologists to take good care of its inmates who thus face suicidal risks. Kobkiat Kasivivat, director-general of the department, said some inmates committed suicide but their number was not shockingly high. Most of them had suffered mental illnesses including depression before being jailed, he said. Upon arrival at prisons, inmates undergo physical and mental health screenings and psychologists handle the mental checkups. However, Mr Kobkiat said that his department had only 30 psychologists who had to cover about 300,000 inmates at 143 prisons in the country. Consequently their services are inadequate. Pending the procurement of information technology equipment to alleviate the problem, inmates were asked to monitor the conditions of their peers and blow whistles to call warders when they found unusual developments, Mr Kobkiat said. For segregated inmates, warders were instructed to take precautions on blankets and other clothing that could be used to harm themselves, he said. (TNA)