The Department of Corrections has deployed 313 vehicles for use by the nation's prisons after a five-year rental contract was agreed with a private firm.
The deployment was made as Pol Col Naras Savestanan, the department chief, presided over an activity to demonstrate how to prevent prison unrest and carry out detainee transportation at Klongprem Central Prison yesterday.
The vehicles have been commissioned until 2022, according to officials. They consist of 74 six-wheel lorries, which can carry 24 people each; 100 vans, with 15 seats each; 85 pickup trucks with cabs and 54 pickup trucks without cabs.
The vehicles will be used to carry detainees to court, other detention facilities or hospitals outside prisons, the officials said.
Authorities have boosted their detainee transportation staff to prevent them from escaping, they said.
The rental of these vehicles comes after the contract with the previous supplier expired.
According to the department's announcement dated Sept 13, three companies took part in e-bidding on Sept 6 to supply prison vehicles and related equipment.
They were Siam Rajathanee Co, MZD, Carcenter Co and Number One Car Rental Co.
Successful bidder MZD offered the lowest monthly rental fee of 8.56 million baht a month over the course of 60 months, totalling 514.14 million baht over the duration of the contract.
Pol Col Naras said only a few inmates have tried to break out of prison in the past. An inmate in the South escaped while being taken to a hospital last year but was subsequently apprehended, he noted.
At present, there are not enough prison guards to take care of around 300,000 inmates in prisons nationwide and stringent measures must be adopted, particularly when the inmates are transported, Pol Col Naras said.
