A Secret History of the Bangkok Hilton by Chavoret Jaruboon, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol Read Free Book Online

lethal injection was introduced, I decided to enter a monastery for 15 days in November 2003. There were three reasons for my decision. First, it was to fulfil a long overdue duty as a son to my parents. Every Thai man is expected to become a monk at least once in his life as a way to make merit on behalf of his parents and to show how grateful he is to them. I was 55 years old but had been distracted from this duty by the business of raising a family. Second, there was a mass ordination being organised in honour of His Majesty the King on the auspicious occasion of his birthday and the merit the monks made was also devoted to the beloved king. Third, it was my way to make merit for those I had wronged including the people I put to death or helped to put to death.
    My wife joked that, of all the men being ordained, I was the one who needed merit-making the most. She was concerned about my spiritual wellbeing. All in all, it is a beautiful tradition and it provided me with a break from the usual business of living. I didn’t feel truly comfortable as a monk but I was glad to complete another rite of passage of a Thai man.
    Early on the morning of December 12, 2003, eight of my fellow monks, who also had worked as prison guards, and I decided to perform a well-wishing ritual for the souls of executed prisoners at Bang Preak Tai Buddhist Temple, which shares a wall with Bang Kwang. We thought it would be a good idea since we were leaving the temple in few days to resume our jobs at Bang Kwang. Little did we know the first lethal injection in Thailand would be administrated that afternoon.
    That day marked a new chapter for the death penalty in Thailand. The Department of Corrections ordered Bang Kwang Central Prison to carry out an order to execute four men. Three of them were drug offenders and the other one had committed premeditated murder. At that time, there were about 6,700 inmates in Bang Kwang, 851 of them on death row and shackled.
    A guard on duty that day told to me later what had happened.
    ‘By 3pm, we had already overseen food being given to them and asked them to return to their cells,’ he said. ‘It was earlier than usual and this made them realise what was about to happen. Many of them lost their appetites. After the last of them was returned to his cell, we locked them in. We closed the main door of the building but didn’t lock it and this confirmed to them that at least one of them would walk out that door and never return.
    ‘The usual sound of them chatting and playing around was replaced by silence. About 4pm, the main door opened and revealed 12 prisoner escorts in black vests standing at the doorway. Three escorts per convict [is standard], so, it was four convicts to be put to death that day. I led the escorts to the cells where the four men were to be collected. We made it brisk. Four names were called and they obediently walked out of their cells. Some answered loud and clear showing readiness to “go”. Perhaps, they took comfort in knowing that they would suffer less than those who had preceded them.’
    The prisoners and their relatives didn’t have time to tham jai (prepare mentally) before the execution. No one knew it was going to happen as it was kept secret from everyone. Other prisoners on death row have to live with the fear that every day may be their last day.
    They were escorted to an office where more officials waited for them and were informed that their petitions for royal pardon from the king had been rejected. They signed their names to acknowledge their respective execution orders. Police from the Criminal Records Division and the prison’s records officer verified photographs and fingerprints of the four men before they were allowed to write their wills and letters.
    Panom Changthonglek, at 32 the youngest of them, made a long distance phone call to his mother who lived in a southern province. She wasn’t home so he left a message with his sister.
    ‘Please tell Mae