Daniel Sancho, son of actor Rodolfo Sancho, has entered the Koh Samui prison on Monday where he will remain at least until the trial for the murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta begins. “Tomorrow I am with 20 people in a cell”the 29-year-old said this Monday in statements for ‘The summer program’.
“I want to return to Spain, move heaven and earth. Keep up the media coverage.”, he has insisted before entering prison. Following the protocol against COVID-19, Daniel Sancho will be in isolation for ten days where he will only be able to receive visits from his legal representative. But what is the Koh Samui prison like? Several former inmates tell of his experience on the Thai blog ‘Koh Phangan Taless’.
“Cells are fucking irritating, 45 people all wanting to pee early in the morning, and some insist on showering in the only toilet in the cell. There are no hammocks in the cells anymore and the inmates are limited to 3 blankets each: one to cover themselves, another to sleep on and another as a pillow”, says one of them. As for the rest of the facilities in the place, “there are about 16 showers and 2 troughs, it’s a bit crazy.” “You can go when everyone has eaten, but there’s a good chance there won’t be any water left. Everyone showers in their underpants, perhaps a little shy”, adds the blogger Mía Escobud.
Regarding food, the Koh Samui prison offers “rice of disgusting appearance and smelly broth with some bones, same as dinner; sometimes you can get lucky and get some chicken stuck to the bones.”
Day to day in prison
The day begins at six in the morning when the prisoners They are placed in rows of 40 for the first count.. The following counts are at eleven in the morning, two at noon and four in the afternoon. They then don their uniforms as appropriate: brown for pretrial inmates and blue for convicts. “You stand up while you wait and crouch or sit down after your number is called, which is when some of the junior inmates throw rocks at people,” they say.
At eight it is time for the Thai national chant, followed by Buddhist prayers. At twelve, lunchtime; and from three to four, “free time and dinner, if you have for it.” Immediately afterwards, they return to the cells; and from five to nine “Thai shower and television under the control of prison staff.” At nine o’clock at night it is time to sleep; 16 prisoners per cell and with the lights on at all times.
