Daniel Sancho, the confessed perpetrator of the murder of surgeon Edwin Arrieta, is waiting to find out what his immediate future will be, which goes through one of the jails of the criticized Thai penitentiary system. However, it is still not entirely clear which prison he will be sent to.
Sancho's first stop on his prison odyssey was the Samui prison, in Koh Samui, where he has spent ten days in isolation, a preventive measure against covid-19. However, his stay was prolonged in the hospital wing due to the fear of the authorities that he would harm himself.
At first, everything seemed to indicate that Sancho would be transferred to Bang Kwang, also known as the Bangkok Hilton, a maximum security prison known for its extremely harsh conditions. Known for its inhumane conditions, the prison has been criticized for overcrowding, insufficient food and harsh punitive measures.
The Thai prosecutor Khun Panikorn, in an intervention in Espejo Público, seemed convinced of this transfer, awaiting the judge's verdict. But it seems that in the end it will not be like that and Sancho will not have to set foot on Bang Kwang, something that reassures his relatives.
In this sense, the Spanish embassy in Thailand has raised a different possibility: Rodolfo Sancho's son could be transferred to the Surat Thani provincial prison, a less cruel destination than Bangkok Hilton, but equally complicated by the conditions of the prisoners in the Thai prison system.
Provincial prisons in Thailand are often less strict compared to maximum security prisons, but this does not mean that they are without challenges and difficulties. In fact, in this prison there have been incidents related to police raids for possession of drugs and other prohibited materials inside the prison.
While waiting for his future to materialize, Sancho has been able to be with his mother. Silvia Bronchalo has recently traveled to the Koh Samui prison to spend an hour and a half with her son. "For me it has been very difficult. Let me know that he is much better, that he is calm, they are treating him very well and to hope that everything is resolved", she commented after leaving the meeting.
However, Watcharapong Boonsaio, director of the prison, does not agree too much with Bronchalo's vision, as reported to Antena 3. According to the person in charge of Koh Samui, Sancho "mentally is not very well, he seems depressed".
