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PRISONS END 'KHAO DAENG' ERA
Corrections Department stops serving unpolished rice to inmates
Story by BHANRAVEE TANSUBHAPOL

The end of a legend or a bid for equality? That's the question raised by the Corrections Department's decision to stop giving prisoners khao daeng, or unpolished rice, with their meals. The traditional attitude towards khao daeng, which is looked down on, stems from the public's identification of it with prison life. In recent years, this feeling lost some of its hold as health-conscious urban families brought the unpolished grain to their tables and a whole new range of khao daeng appeared on supermarket shelves _ but the stigma remains elsewhere.

The equality argument comes from department officials, who say the move to serve white rice to all will put Thai and foreign prisoners on a level playing field. For years, foreign prisoners have been given white rice while their Thai counterparts continued to be given khao daeng, or red rice. The change means all prisoners will be served five-percent white rice _ the term for rice with no more than 5% broken grain.

In addition, thanks to the increase in the food budget from 31 baht per head per day to 42 baht, there will also be more variety beyond rice.

On special days of the month, prisoners can have noodles, congee with a choice of meat, or khanom jeen (rice-based vermicelli) with fish curry.

Previously, plain rice porridge was the only other option _ available on special days of the month.

Supachai Deesamud, head of the food section at Klong Prem prison, said the way the rice is cooked is also changing, to prevent waste.

''Previously, the rice was cooked in big pans and the prisoner-cooks had to keep stirring it until it was cooked,'' he said. ''The problem was that a large portion of the rice would be burnt, while some would remain half-cooked,'' he said. About 40kg of rice was lost daily due to this. The prisons now use steam cookers which guarantee 100% success. This should increase the yield of cooked rice by more than 20% although the process takes two hours, he said.

The Corrections Department has designed and produced the cookers, to be distributed to prisons around the country. Klong Prem prison initially received four cookers but this was not enough to cater for more than 4,620 inmates. It received eight more last month.

A recent survey showed that at least 98% of the prisoners wanted to eat white rice, while the rest wanted to alternate with unpolished rice due to its nutritious value and its reputation as a preventive for beriberi.

But it would cost the department more to provide that choice, he said. Big lots of one variety were cheaper to buy. ''Serving white rice has helped raised the morale of prisoners,'' he said.

Verapong Kriangsinyot of the Thai Health Foundation said the khao daeng the prisons previously served to prisoners was poor quality unpolished rice.

''There is a good quality unpolished type, like unpolished jasmine rice which is very expensive. But inmates were served a poor quality type that is not meant for human consumption. It's the grain used for bird food,'' he said.

He hoped the white rice would be of an acceptable standard. ''Inmates have the right to quality rice,'' he said.

The change has pleased prisoners.

Yodchart, 30, serving six years on a drug conviction, said the switch had improved his appetite and he could save the 15 baht per meal he was previously paying to buy white rice from the welfare section.

''If the department had not changed its policy, those who have no relatives to visit them would have had no choice but to eat red rice throughout their time here,'' said Yodchart.

Amnuay, 35, who was jailed for robbery, said the Corrections Department had made a step in the right direction in taking better care of prisoners.

''Eating white rice makes me feel like other people on the outside. Because it is less filling than red rice, it makes the savoury dishes taste better,'' said Amnuay, who has worked as a prison cook for three years.

The new cookers were easier to use than the pans, he said. They also saved cooks from being splattered with boiling water when stirring the rice.

Monthol, 45, who has been in jail for eight years on a drug conviction, said using pans was more exhausting than using the new cookers. He had slipped and fallen while stirring the large quantities being cooked in pans.

The cookers also allow prison cooks more free time, which they spend playing sport, while waiting for the rice to boil, Monthol said.

For Klong Prem prison, the change to white rice for all ends 54 years of the khao daeng regime, Mr Supachai added

Bangkok Post