Sonkrai, also known as Songkurai, was a World War II Japanese Prisoner of War Camp located close to the Thai/Burma border. The prisoners were forced to work, under harsh conditions, on the construction of the Burma Railway. They suffered extreme hardship from poor rations, disease and brutal treatment. First lieutenant Hiroshi Abe, the construction supervisor, was later convicted as a B/C class war criminal and sentenced to death. His sentence was later commuted to 15 years in prison.