Hermaphrodite poses problem for prison

BANGKOK (AFP): Prison authorities in Thailand are debating where to house a suspected drugs offender found to possess both male and female sex organs, officers said this afternoon. Police initially sent the 22-year-old to the women’s wing of the jail in the central province of Lop Buri to be held pending trial, but officers there soon began to suspect she might really be a he. “The provincial doctor was called in to examine her,” said Corrections Department spokesman Amornpong Virattrakul. “The doctor certified that she is a man, as the male organ is functioning, but she also has a vagina.” To avoid further confusion, the individual has been placed for the time being in the prison’s infirmary, he said.