Free A Secret History of the Bangkok Hilton by Chavoret Jaruboon, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol Page A

through their conduct were asked politely to leave the building. The rest of the time, they were given massages by young prisoners.
    One senior guard in his fifties receives a massage on a regular basis. He changes his guard uniform for a sarong and sits in a foldup beach chair while his masseur, who is convicted of murder, manipulates muscles in his back and neck.
    You probably wouldn’t let a killer get his hands around your neck. In Thai culture, however, it is considered very kind for a child to treat parents or grandparents who complain of bad joints to a massage. So this means the prisoner has come to see the guard as an older relative.
    I think forming bonds with inmates is risky. There have been some incidents where the guards were penalised for fulfilling benign requests.
    One incident involved a guard who was punished for phoning a family on behalf of an inmate to remind them that the deadline for submitting a request for an individual royal pardon was drawing near and if they missed it he would surely be executed.
    Aside from opportunities to make a living, the prisoners can also get some education. Bang Kwang is like a multi-disciplinary school. There are official correspondence courses available through the Basic Education Commission Office and Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University. Prisoners can also learn practical skills at the prison factories or from other inmates that they may be able to use to rebuild their lives after prison.
    One former doctor who murdered his wife taught other inmates to help out medical staff at the prison hospital. His license to practise medicine had been revoked and it was against the rules to allow him to do so, but the reality is that, despite his conviction, his knowledge remains. It would be a waste not to allow him to put it to good use.
    Not all of them choose to be constructive. Some learn such skills as how to get rid of a body, to remove gun powder, to dismember a body, to pick a lock pick or to steal a car.
    No wonder some inmates leave Bang Kwang worse than they were when they arrived. Most of the convicts are between 25 to 35 years old when they arrive and have to serve at least 30 years old in jail. So they have ample time to pick up new interests.

    Being a servant may seem demeaning to some but some stoop even lower to survive by becoming nong (a term of endearment for female) of inmates who have the resources. Nongs are provided for by their ‘husbands’ in exchange for providing sexual relief. Of course, there are what Thai people call kathoeys (effeminate homosexuals or transsexuals) who assume the role of wife.
    The difference between these two groups is that nongs identify themselves as heterosexual men. Most of nongs choose to go against their nature out of necessity as their families are unable to support them or have rejected them. A few choose to become nongs to fund their drug addiction, while some go down this path because it seems the easiest way for them to survive. They are in short supply so if not provided for well, nongs and kathoeys move on to more generous patrons. It is a seller’s market and buyers who make the best offer win.
    Man-on-man action reportedly takes place during the lockdown after midnight when most inmates are asleep and the temperature has cooled down. The couple claims a spot in the corner of their cell. They set up a love nest with pieces of cloth to shield them from the prying eyes of their cellmates. Those who can afford a partner and a spot for a love nest are rich. Less discreet couples do it underneath a big blanket, poke their heads out when they finish and pretend nothing had happened.
    Several nongs who were heterosexual men with wives and kids when they first arrived became feminised versions of themselves after assuming the role of nong for too long. Some even become full-fledged kathoeys. The family of one nong , name Sithi, received quite a shock when they visited him after several years without contact.
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