MP suggests turning abandoned off-shore oil rigs into super-max prisons

United Thai Nation party MP Atthawit Suwanpakdee has proposed transforming abandoned off-shore oil rigs in the Gulf of Thailand into super-max prisons to contain high grade and Chinese prisoners convicted of involvement in illegal businesses.

Atthawit floated the idea during a debate in the Lower House on Wednesday, regarding the formation of a House panel to consider the quality of life of prisoners in congested prisons and ways of helping them to adapt to a new life after their release.

Pointing to the over-crowded conditions in most Thai prisons, he said that there is no need to build new facilities to accommodate the increasing number of convicts. Instead, the budget should be used to improve the facilities in existing prisons to make them more livable and less congested.

He suggested that high grade and Chinese prisoners should be separated from the other inmates and kept in super-max facilities on renovated, previously abandoned off-shore oil platforms.

He claimed that there are now about 190 such platforms, of which 130 have been turned over to the PTT Exploration Company. Instead of dismantling the platforms, which is very costly, he said the remaining 60 platforms could be put to better use by transforming them into prisons, each of which could accommodate about 300 inmates.

Atthawit said he would like taxpayers’ money to be invested in improving conditions in prisons and raising the quality of life of prisoners, while improving the corrections system and ensuring fairness to all parties concerned.