Re-arrested Chalermchai now deemed 'bad' prisoner

Re-arrested Chalermchai now deemed 'bad' prisoner

Chalermchai Matchaklam surrenders to police on Thursday.(Photo by Wassayos Ngamkam)
Chalermchai Matchaklam surrenders to police on Thursday.(Photo by Wassayos Ngamkam)

Former army major and convicted murderer Chalermchai Matchaklam, who was re-arrested for breaching his parole, has been re-classified as a "low-grade", or bad, prison inmate, Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya said on Friday.

Gen Paiboon said the Corrections and Probation departments reported that Chalermchai was found to have breached parole following an investigation into complaints made against him.

Now back in prison, he was re-classified as a "low-grade detainee" because he had failed to change his behaviour even though he had been given a chance to return to society, he said.

"Parole for prison inmates is closely watched by the public and it is necessary for us to make sure those freed on parole do not again cause problems for society," he said.

"Therefore, the parole and probation systems need changes,  not only because of this case but also the fact that tens of thousands of those on parole fail to report to probation officers as required every year.

"The Justice Ministry is in the process of revising related laws to give more power to the probation officers.  But we must be careful not to let them overuse that power," said the justice minister.

Gen Paiboon said there were added restrictions on the 2016 royal decree granting parole to selected   prisoners, in response to complaints from the public. They were intended to prevent those on parole from backsliding and again causing hard to society.

In 2006, the Supreme Court upheld the judgements of  the two lower courts, which gave the death sentence to Chalermchai, who was convicted of the 2001 murder of Preena Leepattanapan, then the governor of Yasothon. He was later stripped of his military rank.

The death sentence was commuted to life after four royal pardons. The life sentence was then further reduced to less than 18 years.

Chalermchai was released early from the prison in Nonthaburi on Sept 30 last year for good behaviour and having served more than two-thirds of his jail term.  When he was released on parole, he still had two years and nine months to serve in prison. 

He was arrested on Wednesday after the Justice Ministry received complaints that he breached parole regulations by travelling outside permitted areas on several occasions. The ministry had also received complaints from residents in Chanthaburi that the disgraced former officer had returned to his old ways and extorted money from them.

Having been arrested for breaching his parole, Chalermchai will now have to serve out the remaining time in prison with no privileges.

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