A PRISON GUARD WATCHES OVER HUNDREDS OF INMATES IN BANGKOK, 2000-08-22 (photo)

A prison guard watches over hundreds of inmates crammed into the overcrowded Klongprem prison in Bangkok August 22, 2000 where over 6,200 inmates are serving sentences on drug-related charges. Thailand's Department of Corrections claims that there are now over 200,000 prisoners in its 133 prisons nationwide, double the number of just three years ago, a legacy of recent laws which allow street-level drug users to be jailed. Thailand is looking at better solutions to overcome the prison burden of drug addicts, like introducing a rural project where low-risk offenders go to work on government-sponsored plantations. In Khlongprem prison, the ratio of guards to prisoners is one in 20 this year, but the ideal ratio is one guard to three prisoners. JIR/PB