Boxers, Masseurs, Singers: Thai Jail Invests in Its Inmates' Future

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By AFP

Published: 07/02/2003

If prison taught Thanongsak Kiet Dao Thong, 23, anything, it was how to fight. And the lessons -- provided free of charge at Khon Kaen provincial jail in northeastern Thailand as part of a grassroots training scheme -- will serve the convicted thief well come July, when he steps out of prison and into the competitive world of Thai kickboxing.
'I will be out soon and I'll become a professional boxer,' Thanongsak told AFP in the jail's gymnasium, where two dozen inmates were stretching, punching and kicking under the watchful eye of armed officers.
'I am happy that I can earn some money for my family while I am here because of Muay Thai,' he said, using the Thai name for the sport. 'I won't go back to breaking the law.'
Thanongsak is one of hundreds of inmates benefitting from a program that provides them with valuable skills in three vocations close to the hearts of northeasterners: kickboxing, traditional Thai massage and folk music.
The program is the brainchild of Khon Kaen prison chief Prayad Intarasongkro, who launched the scheme two years ago for his 2,088 inmates.
'I want them to have an occupation after they leave so they don't have to come back to jail,' he said on a recent tour of the prison.
Job training is de rigueur throughout Thailand's notoriously overcrowded and violent jails.
But while most focus on cooking, beauty therapy and handicrafts, Prayad says he chose to offer training in pursuits popular in Issan, the impoverished northeast region where devotion to kickboxing and its homegrown Mau Lam folk music is legendary.
Massage is also a respected craft in Issan, and its acceptance on a national scale has ensured that large numbers of the 392 women prisoners in Khon Kaen enlist in the jail's massage courses, Prayad said.
To date some 200 former prisoners have completed their training, and their sentences, and gone back to their home villages or off to the cities and into new careers.
But the prison does not require inmates to wait until their time is up before engaging in real work.
About 10 prisoner-masseuses are allowed to ply their wares in a reception room at the front of the jail. The makeshift prison parlour has between eight to 10 clients per day.
Retired government official Wattana Klad-am said he comes here once a week for the service.
'Apart from the perfect massage, I want to help them have some money,' Wattana said.
The services also bring some much-needed income to the underfunded jail. One third of the 150 baht ($3.60) massage fee goes to the prison, while kickboxers are required to hand over 20 percent of their winnings.
About 30 male inmates train in the famed Muay Thai boxing style. Health and sports administrators provide prison staff with necessary boxing and conditioning expertise.
Well-behaved boxing inmates are allowed to travel throughout the province to enter bouts and gain valuable experience.
To date just two kickboxers from Khon Kaen prison have turned professional, but Prayad has high hopes for Thanongsak and the others.
Another 60 inmates are being trained in Mau Lam music, primarily for performing to other prisoners during holidays and festivals.
The traditional songcraft has undergone a modern twist: the infusion of anti-drug themes aimed at the vast majority of the prison's inmates who are serving time on drugs charges.
The size of the Mau Lam bands -- a dozen or more players often perform at once -- prevents them from performing outside the prison due to security concerns.
Prayad said he hoped his rehabilitated inmates would some day be able to perform overseas, but their criminal records.

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