bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

SCMP Reporter

WORD travels quickly around the sparse exercise yard at Lad Yow prison, where time long ago lost its meaning for the several hundred foreign inmates who followed the dragon's trail - and lost.

  ''Nobody could believe it at first. When we found out it was true there was a lot of trouble, and they were talking about bringing male warders in to keep order,'' one female prisoner told welfare officers.

  News had slipped out that two British women were to be set free after serving only three years on drug charges in one of the most notorious prisons in Asia, where some have spent more than a decade looking for a glimmer of hope in Thailand's tedious court appeals system.

  Patricia Cahill and Karyn Smith were pardoned by King Bhumibol after direct intervention by the British Prime Minister, John Major, and his Thai equivalent, Chuan Leekpai.

  The women went home to a hero's welcome and a possible Hollywood film offer, leaving several hundred other British passport-holders, some Hongkong citizens, wondering what they had to do to get out.

  ''They're not happy, they don't think it's fair. They were angry, and the Thai prisoners as well. They didn't really understand why they were released,'' said a volunteer who visited the prison just after the pardon was announced.

  The women were officially freed on humanitarian grounds, despite being caught with 30.6 kilograms of heroin at Bangkok airport - a record amount for an individual seizure.

  British officials did not spell out why it was thought they had ''suffered enough'' from their ordeal, but there was speculation in diplomatic circles that the move was aimed at defusing intense media attention on their case.

  This was a case which refused to die. Two respected British newspapers, The Independent and The Guardian, have alleged in recent months that the women were framed, with Thai police supposedly planting the drugs to claim a substantial reward.

  The story reached farcical levels in May, when a British journalist confronted Prime Minister Chuan over the case at a dinner for local correspondents. The startled Thai leader promised to ''look into'' it.

  Then followed a public slanging match waged through the pages of the bemused Thai papers between a London lawyer handling television contracts on behalf of Smith, and the British journalists.

  Unlike the frenzied British coverage, the women's imprisonment attracted little attention in Thailand, where there were 100,000 drugs-related arrests last year.

  About 990 of the 1,200 foreigners in local jails face trafficking charges, and there are conservatively estimated to be 400,000 Thai addicts.

  However, Thai officials were unhappy that the British case was attracting unfavourable publicity to a country that is considered one of the more tolerant in its treatment of heroin smugglers.

  While Malaysia and Singapore routinely execute convicted traffickers, Thailand has not carried out a death sentence on foreigners for decades and last shot a Thai national for drug offences five years ago.

  Conditions inside the two main prisons used for foreigners are basic, but not oppressive. Regular visitors say inmates are allowed out of their cells 12 hours a day, and are treated fairly provided they abide by regulations.

  ''The most common complaint from the women is that they get too fat from all the inactivity. They are bored, but they're not ill-treated,'' said a prisons volunteer.

  There are currently 200 prisoners on death row, and 70 have lost the last avenues of appeal. Clemency pleas are automatically entered on their behalf, and all go to King Bhumibol.

  ''Since 1988, no petitions for clemency have been returned from the palace. This could mean his Majesty the King may not wish to see people executed again,'' Corrections Department director Kamol Pachuabmoh said recently.

  Smith and Cahill were arrested on the night of July 18, 1990, as they were about to board a flight to Amsterdam. Customs officials found the heroin in their suitcases hidden among shampoo bottles and snack tins.

  British police had tipped off their Thai counterparts after discovering that the women, then aged only 19 and 17, had been given money for their tickets by a Gambian businessman and were following a known drug trafficking pattern.

  The arrests came only months after the British screening of Bangkok Hilton, a sensationalised Australian TV drama on the fictional ordeal faced by drug smugglers in Thailand's prisons system; tabloid newspapers seized upon the case with gusto.

  ''This story has got everything: two young, attractive women facing execution from sadistic guards in the world's biggest drugs region. What more do you want?'' one Fleet Street foreign editor said at the time.

  Neither woman got death, though their sentences were harsh. Smith was to serve 25 years and Cahill, then a juvenile, got 18 years and nine months.

  Cahill and Smith were told by their lawyers from the start that the worst they faced was a long sentence. Britain was already negotiating an exchange treaty under which its nationals could eventually serve their time at British prisons.

  The two women would have been eligible next year, after completing the mandatory four-year waiting period. Instead, they opted for the remote possibility of a royal clemency, which can be sought for foreign prisoners - though it is rarely granted - afterthree years.

  There was a precedence for this. In 1980, British nurse Rita Nightingale was pardoned after serving three years for drug offences, in a case that aroused similar strong emotions.

  The lawyers for Smith and Cahill filed for a pardon late last year to prepare for the amnesty list normally released at royal birthdays and Buddhist holidays. The appeal was supported with a letter from Mr Major in February.

  In the following six months, Mr Chuan's government faced a spate of poor media coverage overseas, ranging from a derogatory dictionary reference to Thailand's inclusion in a list of the top 10 ''most dangerous destinations'' to visit.

  ''I think the image problems all became too much. There was a temptation to remove at least one of the sources of the bad press, and in that respect, Major's appeal was a godsend,'' said a Western diplomat who has followed the case.

  The treatment of Smith and Cahill is in sharp contrast to the fate suffered by the several hundred Nigerian traffickers picked up on the same smuggling route as the British girls.

  They have no embassy in Thailand and depend upon handouts for food, as prisoners are expected to provide for themselves from outside sources.

  There are nine Hongkong Chinese female prisoners on drug charges. Among the Asians being held is a woman arrested five years ago because her boyfriend was carrying heroin in his luggage; she was 17, the same age as Cahill.

  ''Prisoners, particularly those who have served longer than Cahill and Smith for smuggling much smaller amounts of heroin, are wondering why they were not also considered for a pardon,'' noted Thailand's The Nation newspaper.

  '' . . . would Major have done the same thing if Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai had interceded on behalf of Thai citizens who had committed a serious crime in the United Kingdom?'' 



How Thailand fixed its image