Amnat Ruanroeng, born in 1978 or 1979 (he isn't sure), is a second grade drop-out and former drug addict. He was also part of the fearsome Thai Olympic boxing squad at the Beijing Olympics.  This rise to glory started with a fifteen-year prison sentence for robbery. 

It was his third stint in jail and the judge wasn't feeling at all merciful. To Amnat Ruenroeng the prospect of fifteen years banged up was an eternity. His motive for  signing up for the prison boxing program was to help pass the time. Little did he imagine that it would turn into his salvation.

In 2007, just a year after he first stepped into the prison ring, he won a bronze medal in the light-flyweight division. And the day after his victory, he was released from jail on good behavior.  'I can't believe that I'm on the Olympic team,' he says grinning with joy. 'I should still be in jail.'

Read more about the nationwide prison boxing programme offering Thailand's male and female inmates a way out of crime.