Bangkok (AHN)- Known primarily as a "hell-hole" for foreign drug smugglers, Thailand's Lad Yao debuted their new look on Tuesday as they welcomed delegates from a United Nations conference. Some prisoners wore pink tutus and tight green t-shirts, and transvestites and acrobats put on a show. Prisoners were seen studying for degrees and expressed the desire to excel once they completed their sentences. Michael Platzer, a former U.N. official responsible for crime and justice, is disgusted with the prison's attempt to appear humane. "It's a system designed not to reintegrate people. There's no way you can rehabilitate someone after 30 years. You wife or husband is dead, your children have gone. Your life is over." Visitors were restricted from seeing living quarters or from talking to Thai or foreign inmates for more than a few minutes.
