Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are posing the question, is the Thai Immigration Detention Centre worse than the prisons here in Thailand. I'm going to go ahead and just jump in. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from Thai Examiner, that's thaiexaminer.com, the article is titled: Systemic VIP corruption alleged at Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok by rights activist 'Genius'. I made another video contemporaneously with this one where I go into the allegations associated with this situation and they are pretty substantial. Again they remain allegations until such time as we see adjudication on the matter, so I think it's worth pointing out that it's best to keep an open mind and remember people are innocent until proven guilty in Thailand, but the allegations are substantial. And I discussed that in another video, most notably there appears to be allegations that bribery took place mostly to put folks from these Chinese "Scam Centres", whatever you want to call them, into “VIP” accommodation while they were detained. Again it's an allegation; I urge folks who are watching this video, go check out that article, Thai Examiner, thaiexaminer.com. 

While I'm standing here plugging, I think it's worth pointing out, my better half and I did set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok, Pancake Palace. As the name implies, it's American style breakfast anytime, but also American Diner style food. We have hamburgers, cheeseburgers, buffalo wings, chilli bowls, grilled cheese sandwiches. We've also got tacos, so again, if you're interested in that kind of food, come check us out; links are in the description below. 

That said, let's start. Quoting directly from Thai Examiner, thaiexaminer.com: "The Suan Phlu facility houses foreign nationals detained for immigration violations. In addition, it holds individuals awaiting deportation from Thailand. Therefore, the centre functions as a key transit point for removals from the country. However, the facility has long been controversial. For years, critics have cited severe overcrowding inside the compound. Furthermore, complaints have repeatedly mentioned limited living space and inadequate facilities for detainees. Numerous deaths in detention have been recorded there. It has been described as a 'hellhole' for inmates who end up incarcerated there as part of the immigration process. Now Atchariya alleges that assist thematic bribery network has operated inside the detention centre. According to the complaint, Officers collected large payments from Chinese detainees held there. He submitted video clips and audio recordings to the National Police Chief." 

Again, that remains part of the allegation, but the main thrust of this video pertains to the question of, "is the immigration Detention Centre worse than prison?" I  have talked to multiple people on their way out of Thailand when we have assisted in expediting deportation following either criminal conviction, criminal pleading, or incarceration in Thailand and even among matters pertaining to those who were pleading, they oftentimes would end up detained in what is called the Bangkok Remand Centre or the Bangkok Remand Prison and then some folks that ended up being adjudicated guilty of a crime here, I have dealt with in the aftermath of them being incarcerated in Klong Prem Prison. We've also dealt with folks that have been incarcerated down in Pattaya's Correction Facilities, and they end up having to process through Immigration Detention effectively on their way out. And I have seen multiple cases involving that I've actually asked multiple people over the years that have been in both facilities which is worse. And it's kind of always a mixed bag, but one, I've often heard Remand is like one of the better places to be, but most of them will tell you, yeah there are pros and cons to each place but the Immigration Detention Centre is bad, and it's not that they are intentionally trying to make it inhumane or anything. It's just I would argue, it's just kind of, overcrowding seems to be a major issue. It was built at a time when they were far, far, fewer tourists coming through Thailand, far, far, fewer people that needed to be detained. And as a result, it's sort of reached its capacity, if not exceeded it. So that seems to be the consensus from folks that I have talked to over the years regarding which is worse. That being said, never a good idea to put yourself in a position where you might be detained here in the Kingdom of Thailand.