The number of deaths from AIDS has risen from 36 in 1992, 86 in 1993 and 163 last year. Lt-Col Kamol insisted that all prisoners were infected before they were imprisoned He claimed that no drugs were available in prison. He dismissed the possibility that prisoners contracted the disease through sexual transmission saying that it was not possible for the prisoners to have sexual contacts He complained that medical care for the prisoners had been hampered by limited budget and a shortage of medical staff.