Top five: most notorious prisons in Southeast Asia

Across Southeast Asia, cramped conditions, violence and poor hygiene plague prisons in a region not known for its soft approach to justice

 

Bang Kwang Central Prison – Bangkok

Despite the prison being the subject of numerous artistic endeavours over the years, such as the Australian mini-series Bangkok Hilton starring Nicole Kidman, it was not until 2004 that Thai authorities allowed a TV crew to film inside Bang Kwang Central’s walls.

The subsequent BBC documentary showed prisoners locked in cramped conditions for 15 hours a day and surviving on a diet of rotting fish and maggot-infested rice. Due to its tendency to ‘eat men alive’, Thais often refer to the prison as the Big Tiger. After former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s 2003 war on drugs, the prison’s population expanded to more than twice its intended capacity. 

Hoa Lo Prison – Hanoi

Kerobokan Prison – Bali

Prey Sar Prison – Phnom Penh

Quezon City Jail – The Philippines

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