Skills training planned for pardoned convicts

Tax incentives for companies

Companies that hire ex-convicts will be offered tax incentives, and provincial authorities across the country will be instructed to monitor them to minimise the chances of them repeating offences, especially those convicted of drug-related offences, deputy Justice Ministry permanent secretary Thawatchai Thaikheo said at a press conference.

The move was initiated by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in response to public criticism over the release of a large number of prisoners via pardons. 

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam and Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya are overseeing the scheme.

Wissanu said another 18,000 inmates were released periodically this year before the royal pardon in early April.

Of the 56,000 inmates released this year, 70 per cent were convicted of drug-related offences, he said. 

For the monitoring of inmates, Wissanu said state-hired social workers and experts on behavioural improvement would visit areas across the country where the former prisoners had returned home in order to help them attitude-wise over the first six months after their release.

The ex-prisoners will then by taken care of by village heads and kamnan for another six months, he said.

Wissanu said the occupational training would be provided to them as to boost a chance to find jobs so that they could depend on themselves financially. This would help prevent them committing more crimes and being sent back to jail. He said that one major issue was how to make society accept these people. “If they are released and cannot get along with people they may want to continue their criminal way of life,’’ he added.

Meanwhile, Thawatchai said about 120,000 people are released from prisons each year, while there are some 70,000 villages in the country. 

This means that one village head will take care of two former prisoners on average as a short-term measure. 

In the long term, the Corrections Department will prepare lists of prisoners due to be released on a yearly basis in advance so that government agencies can prepare projects to help the ex-convicts once they get out.

Meanwhile, Paiboon said he was preparing a second list of state officials accused of corruption to be forward to the prime minister.

He said he had not finalised the list so he did not know the total number of officials on it yet. 

The first list handed to the PM comprises 118 officials allegedly involved in graft.