Prisoners are normally punished for fighting – but one jail in Thailand does just the opposite.
Klong Prem Central Prison offers inmates the chance to have their sentences reduced or even be released, by beating foreigners in fights. There’s also prize money up for grabs.
The concept is a twist on Jean-Claude Van Damme movie In Hell, where prisoners fight each other to entertain the warden.
Prisoners are given the chance to 'battle for freedom'
The bouts at the Thai prison take place at a tournament called ‘Prison Fight’, which features a ring with this title emblazoned across it.
The bizarre sense of razzamatazz is heightened by the fighters’ clothes – they wear special ‘Prison Fight’ shorts – and the cheerleaders who sometimes parade around.
The fights are watched by prison officials and huge numbers of inmates.
Brutal - An outsider (left) takes on an inmate as the referee looks on
Beating inmates in the bouts gives civilians huge bragging rights
Many of the prison fighters train everyday
A boxer warms up before stepping into the ring
Fights are presided over by prison officials
The incentive for the prisoners is obvious. Winning bouts against prisoners gives foreigners ‘epic bragging rights’.
Many of the outside fighters are very experienced, but they’re often up against inmates who train every single day and it’s the latter who win most often.
‘Prison fights are done to help the prisoners. It lets the prisoners fight so they can earn money,’ said Mr. Pek, Prison Fights coordinator.
‘They also fight to reduce the time of their sentences. To reduce their sentence and to bring honour and fame to Thailand, if they can defeat foreign fighters and fight a lot. Some of the fighters are in for drugs, robbery or murder. There are boxers doing life or 50 years. There are boxers who can never get out.’
Boxers jailed for murder are not granted freedom even if they win
Similar to the concept of Jean-Claude Van Damme's movie 'In Hell'
Prisoners are told that they bring honour to their country (if they win)
When children visit Wat Tha Ka Rong in Ayutthaya, they walk past exhibitions detailing local fish and cultural displays of ASEAN partners. Then they walk straight to the robot.
Although it’s not clear what was the intended educational value of the robot, which is indeed pretty sweet looking, he’s become a popular draw to local youth.
The monks have even nicknamed it “transformer,” though it’s pieced together from bits of metal and unlikely to reconfigure into anything more exciting than a robot made from bits of metal.
Children haven’t been coming to the temple, said Abbot Phra Kru Sutthipanyasophon, who hope the robot and exhibition will pull them back in.
Her nicknames may include ‘wolf girl’ and ‘monkey face’.
But Supatra Sasuphan insisted that she was, after being officially recognised as the world’s hairiest girl.
Supatra says she doesn’t spend time thinking about the rare condition she has that leaves her with thick hair on her face and body, a determination to live a normal life that makes her an inspiration to all who know her.
Although the schoolgirl from Bangkok has faced merciless teasing at school, Supatra says being given a Guinness World Record for her hair has helped her become extremely popular.
‘I’m very happy to be in the Guinness World Records! A lot of people have to do a lot to get in,’ she said. ‘All I did was answer a few questions and then they gave it to me.’
Supatra is one of just 50 known sufferers of Ambras Syndrome – caused by a faulty chromosome – to be documented since the Middle Ages. Before the disease was understood, sufferers were branded ‘werewolves.’
She has thick hair growing over her face, ears, arms, legs and back. Even laser treatment has failed to stop the hair growth.
But while most sufferers have been shunned, Supatra is embraced by her community, and is actually a popular and outgoing child.
She said: ‘There were a few people who used to tease me and call me monkey face but they don’t do it any more.
‘I’m very used to this condition. I can’t feel the hair as it has always been like this. I don’t feel anything.’
‘It does sometimes make it difficult to see when it gets long. I hope I will be cured one day.’
In other ways Supatra is the same as other children her age – she loves swimming, dancing to her favourite music and playing with friends.
But more than anything, Supatra loves perching in front of the TV at her tiny one-bedroom family home in Pranakom, on the outskirts of Bangkok, to watch cartoons.
She said: ‘I like to watch anything on TV, whatever is, I like having it on. I like to watch Bugs Bunny.’
The bubbly little girl is also determined not to let her condition prevent her from leading a normal life.
She said: ‘I like to study maths so I can be good at it and teach it to younger children so they can do it too.’
‘I want to become a doctor so I can help patients when they get injured.’
‘I want to help people who get hurt and help cure people.’
But Supatra’s future didn’t always look so promising. When she was first born she had to undergo two operations just to breathe.
Her father Sammrueng, 38, said: ‘We found out about Supatra’s condition when she was born – we did not know before.’
‘She was not very healthy because her nostrils were only one millimetre wide. For the first three months she was kept in an incubator to help her breathe. She was in the hospital for a total of 10 months. We were very worried about her.’
Supatra had another operation when she was 2-years-old and can now breathe normally.
But when Sammrueng and his wife Somphon, 38, brought Supatra home to live with them and their other daughter Sukanya, now 15, they faced more problems.
‘When neighbours first saw Nat they asked what kind of sin I had done. I was very worried about what she would be when she grew up because of other children teasing her,’ he said.
But Supatra’s sweet nature quickly won over people in her community.
Sammrueng, a jewellery maker, said: ‘She gets along with others really well and is very generous. She has a lot of friends.
‘She is just the same as any other little girl her age.
‘But her teeth grow slowly and she can’t see very well.’
Doctors tried to remove the hair with laser treatment when she was 2-years-old but despite numerous sessions it kept growing back as thickly as before.
Supatra’s hair has got increasingly thicker as she has grown up so her mother has to cut it back regularly for her.
She uses baby shampoo to wash her hair as she is allergic to stronger brands.
Sammrueng said: ‘I still hope one day she will be cured. We will do anything we can if it will help her.’
Fighting for freedom (out of prison)…
Prisoners are normally punished for fighting – but one jail in Thailand does just the opposite.
Klong Prem Central Prison offers inmates the chance to have their sentences reduced or even be released, by beating foreigners in fights. There’s also prize money up for grabs.
The concept is a twist on Jean-Claude Van Damme movie In Hell, where prisoners fight each other to entertain the warden.
The bouts at the Thai prison take place at a tournament called ‘Prison Fight’, which features a ring with this title emblazoned across it.
The bizarre sense of razzamatazz is heightened by the fighters’ clothes – they wear special ‘Prison Fight’ shorts – and the cheerleaders who sometimes parade around.
The fights are watched by prison officials and huge numbers of inmates.
The incentive for the prisoners is obvious. Winning bouts against prisoners gives foreigners ‘epic bragging rights’.
Many of the outside fighters are very experienced, but they’re often up against inmates who train every single day and it’s the latter who win most often.
‘Prison fights are done to help the prisoners. It lets the prisoners fight so they can earn money,’ said Mr. Pek, Prison Fights coordinator.
‘They also fight to reduce the time of their sentences. To reduce their sentence and to bring honour and fame to Thailand, if they can defeat foreign fighters and fight a lot. Some of the fighters are in for drugs, robbery or murder. There are boxers doing life or 50 years. There are boxers who can never get out.’
Source – http://www.coloradonewsday.com/national/44405-fighting-for-their-freedom-thai-prison-inmates-earn-parole-by-beating-foreign-kickboxers-in-brutal-tournaments-and-bringing-honour-to-their-country.html
Transformer at Ayutthaya temple…
When children visit Wat Tha Ka Rong in Ayutthaya, they walk past exhibitions detailing local fish and cultural displays of ASEAN partners. Then they walk straight to the robot.
Although it’s not clear what was the intended educational value of the robot, which is indeed pretty sweet looking, he’s become a popular draw to local youth.
The monks have even nicknamed it “transformer,” though it’s pieced together from bits of metal and unlikely to reconfigure into anything more exciting than a robot made from bits of metal.
Children haven’t been coming to the temple, said Abbot Phra Kru Sutthipanyasophon, who hope the robot and exhibition will pull them back in.
Source:
http://www.khaosod.co.th/en/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRNNU1qZzRNelV5T1E9PQ==&catid=01
Hairiest girl in the world – the most popular girl in school…
Her nicknames may include ‘wolf girl’ and ‘monkey face’.
But Supatra Sasuphan insisted that she was, after being officially recognised as the world’s hairiest girl.
Supatra says she doesn’t spend time thinking about the rare condition she has that leaves her with thick hair on her face and body, a determination to live a normal life that makes her an inspiration to all who know her.
Although the schoolgirl from Bangkok has faced merciless teasing at school, Supatra says being given a Guinness World Record for her hair has helped her become extremely popular.
‘I’m very happy to be in the Guinness World Records! A lot of people have to do a lot to get in,’ she said. ‘All I did was answer a few questions and then they gave it to me.’
Supatra is one of just 50 known sufferers of Ambras Syndrome – caused by a faulty chromosome – to be documented since the Middle Ages. Before the disease was understood, sufferers were branded ‘werewolves.’
She has thick hair growing over her face, ears, arms, legs and back. Even laser treatment has failed to stop the hair growth.
But while most sufferers have been shunned, Supatra is embraced by her community, and is actually a popular and outgoing child.
She said: ‘There were a few people who used to tease me and call me monkey face but they don’t do it any more.
‘I’m very used to this condition. I can’t feel the hair as it has always been like this. I don’t feel anything.’
‘It does sometimes make it difficult to see when it gets long. I hope I will be cured one day.’
In other ways Supatra is the same as other children her age – she loves swimming, dancing to her favourite music and playing with friends.
But more than anything, Supatra loves perching in front of the TV at her tiny one-bedroom family home in Pranakom, on the outskirts of Bangkok, to watch cartoons.
She said: ‘I like to watch anything on TV, whatever is, I like having it on. I like to watch Bugs Bunny.’
The bubbly little girl is also determined not to let her condition prevent her from leading a normal life.
She said: ‘I like to study maths so I can be good at it and teach it to younger children so they can do it too.’
‘I want to become a doctor so I can help patients when they get injured.’
‘I want to help people who get hurt and help cure people.’
But Supatra’s future didn’t always look so promising. When she was first born she had to undergo two operations just to breathe.
Her father Sammrueng, 38, said: ‘We found out about Supatra’s condition when she was born – we did not know before.’
‘She was not very healthy because her nostrils were only one millimetre wide. For the first three months she was kept in an incubator to help her breathe. She was in the hospital for a total of 10 months. We were very worried about her.’
Supatra had another operation when she was 2-years-old and can now breathe normally.
But when Sammrueng and his wife Somphon, 38, brought Supatra home to live with them and their other daughter Sukanya, now 15, they faced more problems.
‘When neighbours first saw Nat they asked what kind of sin I had done. I was very worried about what she would be when she grew up because of other children teasing her,’ he said.
But Supatra’s sweet nature quickly won over people in her community.
Sammrueng, a jewellery maker, said: ‘She gets along with others really well and is very generous. She has a lot of friends.
‘She is just the same as any other little girl her age.
‘But her teeth grow slowly and she can’t see very well.’
Doctors tried to remove the hair with laser treatment when she was 2-years-old but despite numerous sessions it kept growing back as thickly as before.
Supatra’s hair has got increasingly thicker as she has grown up so her mother has to cut it back regularly for her.
She uses baby shampoo to wash her hair as she is allergic to stronger brands.
Sammrueng said: ‘I still hope one day she will be cured. We will do anything we can if it will help her.’
References:
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/extraordinary/hairiest-teenager
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1361409/Supatra-Sasuphan-hairiest-girl-Wolf-child-says-Ambras-syndrome-makes-popular.html
http://www.today.com/health/happy-werewolf-girl-says-shes-proud-being-special-172169
http://weirdnews.about.com/od/weirdphotos/ss/izarre-Human-Body_5.htm
http://www.ripleys.com/weird/daily-dose-of-weird-wtf-blog/unbelievable-but-true/meet-the-worlds-hairiest-girl/