Former Convict Repents After 30 Years in Prison, Calls Father in Tears

Hat Yai: A former prisoner who has spent his life in prison since he was 19 until now, at the age of 49, cried to the police, asking them to help him return to his home that he had left for 30 years. The police called his father, who had the father and son talk to each other in tears.

According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Somporn, 49 years old, a former prisoner who practically grew up in prison his whole life, was previously in Surat Thani Prison, Songkhla Prison, and Khao Bin Prison. He was incarcerated in 1994 at the age of 19 and was released in 2022.

On February 12, the drug suppression police of Hat Yai Police Station arrested Mr. Somporn, who was using drugs with a group of friends in a house in Khlong Hae Subdistrict, Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province. When the police asked if he had any relatives to inform about his arrest, Mr. Somporn said he had no relatives because he had been in prison and had not returned home to Surat Thani Province for 30 years. The police helped search for relatives in the household registration and discovered that his younger brother and father were still living in this house, but his younger sister had already passed away. As soon as he learned that his younger sister had passed away, Mr. Somporn bowed his head and cried. The police then searched for his younger brother’s number and found him, making a video call so that his siblings could see and talk to each other for the first time in 30 years. His younger brother said that their father still asks about him all the time and is always worried about him. Mr. Somporn promi
sed that after resolving the case for which he was arrested, he would turn over a new leaf and return home to live with his father.

Most recently, on February 18, Mr. Somporn was released again from the drug case he had just been arrested for. The court ordered him to pay a fine of 4,000 baht, but he had no money to pay the fine, so he was detained in lieu of the fine. Immediately after his release, he came to see the drug suppression police unit or the Tawan unit at Hat Yai Police Station because the arresting police told him that if he was released from prison, he should come to see the police officers to help him return home. Pol. Sgt. Santhaya Khuntongpan or Sergeant Aiang, the commander of the investigation unit at Hat Yai Police Station, was taking care of him. In addition to helping call his father, he also bought him food and drinks, took him to collect his personal belongings, and took him to the van station at Hat Yai Agricultural Market, bought him a ticket, and gave him 500 baht for his pocket. He called his father to arrange to pick him up at the Agricultural Market 1 station in Ban Don, Surat Thani. He left at 3 p.m. and exp
ected to arrive in Surat Thani at 8 p.m.

Mr. Somporn said that he had been imprisoned for more than 30 years because he committed 20 theft cases. He was arrested in 1994 and sentenced to 33 years and 4 months in prison. He was first imprisoned at Surat Thani Prison, but he broke the rules and was sent to Songkhla Prison in 2000. He still misbehaved and was demoted to the lowest class of prisoners and did not receive a sentence reduction. In 2019, he was transferred to Khao Bin Central Prison until he was released in 2022. His nickname, ‘Shrimp under the Rail,’ was from prison because he often hid under the clothesline. After his release, he moved to Hat Yai District. He had a girlfriend and lived with her for three years before breaking up. He then got involved with drugs until he was arrested by the Tawan Police. However, he was fortunate because the Tawan Police contacted his relatives and talked to his sister. Even though his sister was gone, at least he knew that his younger brother and father were still waiting for him. Therefore, he decided to
turn himself in. After his release, he decided to come to the Tawan Police immediately and did not go back to his old place. He expressed gratitude for being given a new opportunity and life.