ladyarkles
04-17-2005, 11:20 PM
Modern new canteen, smart food preparation to make inmates' stays happier Story by BHANRAVEE TANSUBHAPOL
You could be excused for thinking you have walked into a hospital or cooking school when you enter the canteen at Thon Buri Remand Prison.
The prison is where offenders are held before they go to trial. Its canteen and kitchen have been upgraded and equipped with clean and modern utensils as part of a Corrections Department drive to improve prisoner stays.
A group of foreign crime officers will visit next week while they are here for a United Nations conference to inspect what the department has done.
Prison director Thanis Sriyapan said the department embarked on the changes seven months ago. Food preparation in prisons was a human rights issue, and the department wanted to make sure that prisons complied.
Before the renovation, ingredients used to make food were kept on the floor, which was unhygienic. The inmate cooks also had no knowledge of cooking. ``I put a proposal to the Corrections Department and they gave us nine million baht to improve the condition of the canteen, food quality and preparation. The new canteen opened in January this year,'' said Mr Thanis. Every day, 120 cooks make food for 3,900 inmates at the canteen.
The prisoners-cum-cooks now have to pass a cooking examination, medical check-up and get training from nutritionists to qualify.
The cooks' performance is evaluated every week. Poor performers are taken off the roster. Ingredients are now kept on a table. This prison also has a cold storage for keeping vegetables and another room for keeping dry ingredients. All stoves are now equipped with a safety valve.
The gas is delivered through a pipe system and can be be shut off in the event of an accident.
Thon Buri Remand Prison has also launched programmes to improve inmate behaviour, including doubling visiting times to 30 minutes per visit.
Thailand will host the 11th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on April 18-20, when delegates will get a chance to see what the department has been doing.
Nathee Chitsawang, director-general of the Corrections Department, said prisons in Ratchaburi, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima had expressed the intention of upgrading their canteens in a similar way.
However, not all prisons in Thailand could follow suit because in some cases the infrastructure was not suitable.
While they are here, the UN delegates will also visit the Central Women's Correctional Institute in Klong Prem that features a hospital, library, nursery and knowledge centre for inmates.
You could be excused for thinking you have walked into a hospital or cooking school when you enter the canteen at Thon Buri Remand Prison.
The prison is where offenders are held before they go to trial. Its canteen and kitchen have been upgraded and equipped with clean and modern utensils as part of a Corrections Department drive to improve prisoner stays.
A group of foreign crime officers will visit next week while they are here for a United Nations conference to inspect what the department has done.
Prison director Thanis Sriyapan said the department embarked on the changes seven months ago. Food preparation in prisons was a human rights issue, and the department wanted to make sure that prisons complied.
Before the renovation, ingredients used to make food were kept on the floor, which was unhygienic. The inmate cooks also had no knowledge of cooking. ``I put a proposal to the Corrections Department and they gave us nine million baht to improve the condition of the canteen, food quality and preparation. The new canteen opened in January this year,'' said Mr Thanis. Every day, 120 cooks make food for 3,900 inmates at the canteen.
The prisoners-cum-cooks now have to pass a cooking examination, medical check-up and get training from nutritionists to qualify.
The cooks' performance is evaluated every week. Poor performers are taken off the roster. Ingredients are now kept on a table. This prison also has a cold storage for keeping vegetables and another room for keeping dry ingredients. All stoves are now equipped with a safety valve.
The gas is delivered through a pipe system and can be be shut off in the event of an accident.
Thon Buri Remand Prison has also launched programmes to improve inmate behaviour, including doubling visiting times to 30 minutes per visit.
Thailand will host the 11th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on April 18-20, when delegates will get a chance to see what the department has been doing.
Nathee Chitsawang, director-general of the Corrections Department, said prisons in Ratchaburi, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima had expressed the intention of upgrading their canteens in a similar way.
However, not all prisons in Thailand could follow suit because in some cases the infrastructure was not suitable.
While they are here, the UN delegates will also visit the Central Women's Correctional Institute in Klong Prem that features a hospital, library, nursery and knowledge centre for inmates.