A Thai prison in the country's southern province of Chumpon, Lang Suan prison, has filed a police complaint after footage of overcrowded conditions within it were leaked onto YouTube, Chiang Rai Times and the Bangkok Post reported.

Claimed to show live footage

The video was posted to YouTube on Dec. 24 by the account "Big Brother's Gaze", under the title of "Thai Bangkok prison Security Came live", and showed inmates going about their daily activities.

The account further claimed that the footage was "live-footage", although Thai authorities have since stated that it was two hours behind real-time.

Some of the footage also showed women inmates, while others showed a mass gathering of male inmates outdoors.

Thai justice minister informed

The video was subsequently brought to the attention of the Thai justice minister, Somsak Thepsuthin, by the Corrections Department, Bangkok Post further reported.

In response, Somsak pointed out that similar incidents had occurred in other countries such as Australia and Russia, and that he was concerned the video could have violated the rights of inmates.

Somsak also highlighted that the video could damage the reputation of Thai prisons as it showed overcrowded conditions, and instructed the corrections department to file a complaint with the police over the matter.

Prison ordered to turn CCTV system off

The Chiang Rai Times reported that the Corrections Department Director-General, Narat Sawettanan, in turn ordered the prison to shut off its CCTV system and file a complaint with the police.

On Dec. 27, Thailand's Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) confirmed that it was investigating the case after receiving a complaint and some evidence from the prison's officials.

Elaborating on the investigation, the deputy commander for the TCSD, Siriwat Deepor, added that the police was seeking information from the company that installed the prison's CCTV system about how the footage was leaked and whether the incident was the result of a hack or an inside job.

A source in the Thai Justice ministry told the Bangkok Post that the CCTV systems in Thai prisons had been installed by private contractors through a process of procurement.

The source elaborated that these systems are also connected online so as to give authorised individuals access to real-time viewing, with prison chiefs and senior officials being able to view live CCTV footage on their smartphones.

Somsak has since further speculated that the access code to the prison's CCTV system could have been leaked to outsiders who then accessed the system and posted footage to YouTube.

Removed a day after it was posted

As for the video itself, it was subsequently unavailable a day later on Dec. 25, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The Chiang Rai Times and Bangkok Post further reported that ten other videos showing prison footage from countries such as Russia, Australia and U.S. were also removed.

Meanwhile, the "About" section currently shows an apology from the account holder.

Top image screenshot from สิริเล่า เล่าเรื่อง​ YouTube