Thailand · Nonthaburi Province · Nonthaburi
Bang Kwang Central Prison
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit Bang Kwang Central Prison
Step-by-step guidance using the Thailand system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
Thailand's principal long-sentence and death-row facility for men. Foreign inmates housed in dedicated wings.
Background
Bang Kwang Central Prison (Thai: เรือนจำกลางบางขวาง; RTGS: Rueancham Klang Bang Khwang) is a men's prison in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand, on the Chao Phraya River, about 11 km north of Bangkok. It is a part of the Department of Corrections. Bang Kwang is the site of the men's death row. As of 2018, the prison had about 6,000 inmates. The Australian drug courier Warren Fellows spent approximately 12 years at Bang Kwang, while his compatriot and accomplice Paul Hayward put in ten years at the facility.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
5,000
Current population
7,500
Occupancy
150%
Year opened
1931
Operational
Facility profile
Operator
Department of Corrections
Population held
male
Opened
1931
Region
Nonthaburi Province
Security level
Maximum
Death-row facility
Yes
Conditions
Holds long-sentence and death-row prisoners. Significant population of drug-trafficking convicts including foreign nationals.
Visiting
Mon-Fri morning sessions only. Passport required for foreigners. Inmates and visitors separated by glass and screen; communication via phone handset.
Mailing
Format: Inmate Name, Bang Kwang Central Prison, 33 Nonthaburi 1 Rd, Suansai, Mueang Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand. Limit on books and photographs.
Practical info
Money to foreign inmates via embassy welfare officer or money transfer to consular account.
Known issues
Reports of shackling of newly arrived prisoners for extended periods. Death penalty cases held here pending execution.
Notable inmates
Numerous Western drug-trafficking convicts including the late Glenn Sutton; subject of multiple memoirs.
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
- Overcrowding
- 22/30
- Oversight reports
- 6/30
- Structural flags
- 10/15
- Death signals
- 5/15
- Conditions text
- 0/10
What the score is responding to:
- · Severely overcrowded at 150% of capacity
- · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
- · Death-row facility
- · Substantial documented known-issues record
- · In-custody-death signal in sources
Trend over time
Population and occupancy by year. Source: official corrections statistics + oversight reports.
Population held
Compared to other facilities in Thailand
95 peersHigher risk than 100% of peer facilities in Thailand.
Reports
- Amnesty International9 Nov 2023
Continued reports of shackling of newly-arrived prisoners for prolonged periods; Thailand maintains the death penalty though no executions since 2018.
Data completeness
100%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- Department of Corrections Thailand
- Prisoners Abroad
- Department of Corrections — Thailand — Royal Thai Government
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.