Olympic Champion Visits Imprisoned Fellow Boxer in Bangkok

Olympic gold medalist Somjit Jongjohor from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics recently posted about visiting fellow boxer Manas Boonchamnong, an Olympic medal winner whose life took a dramatic turn after he was imprisoned at Bangkok Special Prison. Manas was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months, making headlines as a fall from glory for one of Thailand's most decorated amateur boxers.

Somjit described the prison visit process in detail: visitors must register for approximately 45 minutes, exchange cash for meal vouchers, store valuables in lockers, and pass through security screening before entering the visitation hall. The facility was crowded and sweltering, with multiple fans unable to overcome the intense heat trapped within the high prison walls.

When Manas spotted Somjit, the younger boxer rushed to embrace him and broke down in tears—tears of sorrow, regret, and relief at seeing a familiar face. Somjit struggled to hide his own emotional reaction, instead focusing on allowing Manas to speak with his family members present during the two-hour visitation window (1:00 PM to 3:00 PM). During this time, prison musicians and inmate performers provided entertainment.

Somjit observed other inmates and their families visiting: some couples reunited with joy, an elderly couple in their 60s-70s with one parent in a wheelchair, illustrating how incarceration extends its burden beyond the prisoner alone to those who love them. He gifted Manas 500 baht in meal vouchers and spent the final half-hour in conversation, reflecting on the heavy toll imprisonment takes on families and loved ones.