Rampant Abuse of Rights by Thailand's Prison Warders by Phairath Khampha 18 July 2002 Thailand's Corrections Department admitted for the first time that the country's prisons were plagued with gross human rights violations by warders. Many complaints had been received reporting a variety of violations by warders, including torture, extortion and forcing to receive sexual favours from inmates' wives and daughters, Siwa Saengmanee, the director-general, said on July 17, 2002. Prisoners meted out punishment on behalf of warders, and minor disciplinary transgressions were often met with violent beatings. "It is the responsibility of prison officials to turn convicts into valuable members of society, not ruin their morale by handing out unauthorised punishments," Mr Siva said. In some cases, even the most basic rights of prisoners were being ignored, especially lenient treatment during national holidays. Many warders also accepted bribes for delivering messages or money outside prisons. The abundance of violations reflected a lack of official punishments within prisons, the corrections chief said during the launch of a training session aimed at raising awareness of human rights among prison staff. The programme, which would be extended to all prisons nationwide, was aimed at teaching officials how to treat inmates with respect. "The Corrections Department has only 8,000 employees, so we have to adjust our working styles accordingly," he said. According to a report by Amnesty International titled Widespread Abuses in the Administration of Justice, which was filed with the Justice Ministry in June 2002, many offenders suffered rights violations from their arrests, to their release from prison. The report specifically referred to assaults against local and foreign inmates at Lat Yao Central Prison and the use of shackles at Bang Khwang Prison, as well as overcrowding and poor living conditions at prisons nationwide. The problem reflected insufficient budget allocations for the Corrections Department and related agencies, it said. Discrimination and the use of violence was also spurred by prison employees' relatively low salaries. Mr Siwa also revealed on July 17, 2002 a record number of prisoners were sitting on death row after a surge in drug-trafficking convictions. The latest figures showed 649 prisoners were awaiting execution, including 451 convicted of drug-related crimes. A total of 140 inmates had been sent to death row between March and July, the director-general revealed.