A total of 196 prisoners convicted of serious crimes have been screened for segregated detention in maximum security or "supermax" zones to keep them away from other prisoners who committed less serious offences, Corrections Department director-general Ayut Sinthoppan said.
Mr Ayut said the 196 had been screened using criteria stipulated in the Criminal Code. Their offences included child murder, child rape, rape-murder, serial murder and psychopathic murder.
Their past criminal records, mental condition and behaviour while in detention were also taken for consideration in the screening, he added.
Mr Ayut said the segregated detention of prisoners in "supermax" zones is intended to facilitate the Corrections Department's implementation of measures for the proper treatment and rehabilitation of inmates. With assistance from the Institute Galya Rajanagarindra and psychiatrists, the measures are designed to enable prisoners to return to society as good citizens.
He did not say where or when the "supermax" detention of prisoners would be implemented, or whether it had already begun.