PHUKET: Two Australians who reportedly set out to shoot a Dane in the Thai holiday destination of Patong in January now share Phuket Prison with the man they allegedly tried to kill.
According to Phuket police, the Aussies opened fire when they thought they saw Dennis Knudsen, 24, passing by on a motorcycle in a street in Patong.
Instead, two German tourists, walking by on their holiday on Phuket, were shot by mistake.
Australians John Edward Cohen, 33, and Adam Lewis Shea, 26, have been remanded in custody in crowded Phuket Prison since their arrest for the January 22 shooting.
Knudsen has recently joined them inside the jail after being sentenced to a year in prison for fraud.
Meanwhile, the two Australians are yet to face trial.
In December, Mr Cohen went to Patong police to complain that Knudsen had rented a motorcycle from him but had not paid the bill for two months.
On January 22 Mr Cohen, who runs several tattoo shops in Patong, began questioning hotel staff about whether they had seen Knudsen.
He and Mr Shea were walking down Soi Sansabai, police said, when he thought he saw Knudsen riding past on a motorcycle.
The deputy superintendent of the local station, Colonel Akanit Danpitaksat, said: ''Outside the Family Mart store, Mr Cohen fired two shots and hit two German tourists by mistake.''
Bystanders helped Johann Baschenegger, 41, and Joseph Woerner, 71, who were not seriously hurt.
Phuket Prison was built more than a century ago to house 700 inmates but now holds 2200, mostly for drugs-related offences.
People in Phuket Prison awaiting trial mix with those already convicted.
''Whatever the feelings of the Australians towards the Danish man, their argument has not continued inside the jail,'' a well-informed source told Phuketwan.
Unlike the small cells in Western prisons, the Phuket jail has large dormitories with the number of occupants varying from 30 to several hundred.
Although most foreign prisoners tend to congregate together, it's not know whether the Australians and the Danish man share the same dormitory.
A large number of transsexual ladyboys, known as katoeys, form part of the prison population. Those who have completed the process of sexual reorientation are housed with other women.
The majority, including some who have breast implants, remain imprisoned with the other males.
Phuket's jail rates as a ''white prison,'' where surprise raids have shown the facility to be clean of drugs, weapons and illegal mobile telephones.
As part of the rehabilitation process, trusted male prisoners operate a car wash just outside the walls while female prisoners provide a massage service to the public.
The Australians will be remanded every 12 days until prosecutors are ready to proceed with the case.
According to Phuket police, the Aussies opened fire when they thought they saw Dennis Knudsen, 24, passing by on a motorcycle in a street in Patong.
Instead, two German tourists, walking by on their holiday on Phuket, were shot by mistake.
Australians John Edward Cohen, 33, and Adam Lewis Shea, 26, have been remanded in custody in crowded Phuket Prison since their arrest for the January 22 shooting.
Knudsen has recently joined them inside the jail after being sentenced to a year in prison for fraud.
Meanwhile, the two Australians are yet to face trial.
In December, Mr Cohen went to Patong police to complain that Knudsen had rented a motorcycle from him but had not paid the bill for two months.
On January 22 Mr Cohen, who runs several tattoo shops in Patong, began questioning hotel staff about whether they had seen Knudsen.
He and Mr Shea were walking down Soi Sansabai, police said, when he thought he saw Knudsen riding past on a motorcycle.
The deputy superintendent of the local station, Colonel Akanit Danpitaksat, said: ''Outside the Family Mart store, Mr Cohen fired two shots and hit two German tourists by mistake.''
Bystanders helped Johann Baschenegger, 41, and Joseph Woerner, 71, who were not seriously hurt.
Phuket Prison was built more than a century ago to house 700 inmates but now holds 2200, mostly for drugs-related offences.
People in Phuket Prison awaiting trial mix with those already convicted.
''Whatever the feelings of the Australians towards the Danish man, their argument has not continued inside the jail,'' a well-informed source told Phuketwan.
Unlike the small cells in Western prisons, the Phuket jail has large dormitories with the number of occupants varying from 30 to several hundred.
Although most foreign prisoners tend to congregate together, it's not know whether the Australians and the Danish man share the same dormitory.
A large number of transsexual ladyboys, known as katoeys, form part of the prison population. Those who have completed the process of sexual reorientation are housed with other women.
The majority, including some who have breast implants, remain imprisoned with the other males.
Phuket's jail rates as a ''white prison,'' where surprise raids have shown the facility to be clean of drugs, weapons and illegal mobile telephones.
As part of the rehabilitation process, trusted male prisoners operate a car wash just outside the walls while female prisoners provide a massage service to the public.
The Australians will be remanded every 12 days until prosecutors are ready to proceed with the case.
Baffled why this story needs the 'titilation value' of the comment about ladyboys - it seems to be a stock cut and paste when you produce articles about the prison and has no relevance to the main subject matter. Maybe, like a lot of your readers I'm just pessimistic though.
Posted by Mister Ree on April 10, 2013 11:12
Editor Comment:
Don't assume that all readers know as much about Phuket Prison as you do, Mister Ree. The article is written to fully explain to new and old readers how Phuket Prison differs from those in the West. What's baffling is the assumption that Phuketwan is written only for people who know the island reasonably well.