Ang Moh say Singapore's prison is extremely harsh and inhumane

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Some time back there was an excellent thread in this forum about prison life by a local inmate.

Here, this ang moh say Singapore's prison is extremely harsh and inhumane:

Singapore's prison extremely harsh and inhumane

In the "newly renovated" Changi prison, the prison that houses almost all the inmates in Singapore, the inmates sleep on hard concrete floor with no proper beds. They are only given a very thin straw mat.

They are locked in a small cell 23 hours a day. They get no outdoor exercises, all their exercises are conducted indoor. They don't get open air for the duration of their sentence. This can be for years!

There are no fans or air conditioning despite the country's extreme heat (30-40 degree celsius in the cells) and humidity, being near the equator.

Inmates are not allowed any personal possessions, like radio, tv, personal clothings etc. They are not even allowed to keep a pen and paper with them.

The inmates basically are allowed zero personal belongings except 3 softcover books. Hardcover books are not allowed, don't ask why, it is just another rule that doesn't make sense and is created to drive the inmates nearer to insanity.

Maybe hardcover books are deemed to be highly dangerous. Imagine it could turn into a highly lethal weapon should it fall into the wrong hands

Telephones are not allowed and they can only write 1 or 2 letters every fortnight.

Inmates are not allowed to keep photographs of their family. They require special permission from their CO should they wish to do so.

Inmates' heads are shoven and they have to behave like soldiers. They must greet the COs when they see them. They must walk in one single file (Not like they walk around much given how claustophic the entire place is. The prison is a tall multi story block and the work locations often just in the vincinity of their cells. Everything is indoors.) and keep their hands at their back when talking to their COs, failing which they are liable to get punished.

Not everyone gets to work. Work is often mundane and repetitive. An example is laundry work. It doesn't inpart any "real" skill.

Some inmates are also caned if they were convicted of certain crimes. Their buttocks bleed and permanent scars are left behind.

It is a terrible state of affairs. The prison system is full of stupid unreasonable rules that just drives inmates crazy. The regime is very inhumane.

Someone should campaign for change. Oh wait, if someone were to campaign for change in the wrong manner, they could be fined or jailed for illegal assembly since even peaceful protests are illegal in Singapore. And you need a police permit to speak in public.

Compared to Singapore, prisons in the US are like heaven.

The prisons in countries like the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Netherlands and basically every other first world democracy are like 5 stars hotel.

For many crimes, the prison sentences in Singapore are also very much longer compared to other first world democracies. Serious drug trafficking can be a 6 year bid in Australia (3 years with parole, probably served in a minimum security prison) but in Singapore it can be the death penalty. There are no minimum security prisons in Singapore for criminal cases.

I also recall on the newspaper not too long ago, one guy got caught using a fake credit card and was jailed 4 years. The same offence for first time offenders in other first world democracies would normally be probation, fine or house arrest in other countries. Or a 1-2year jail bid for repeat offenders in a minimum security prison.

Adults in Singapore do not get probation except in special circumstances as probation is generally only available to minors. It is either fine or prison for adults. No suspended sentence, no house arrest, no probation(normally). There seems to be a lack of sentencing options.

Even in third world countries like Peru, the prisoners get to watch TV, listen to the radio and they can have their relatives bring them food, cloth for handicraft work, any amount of books they want. I have heard the inmates have even managed to set up a disco in one of their prisons!

Nelson Mandela once said something like this "You can judge a country by not how it treats its upper class but by how it treats its prisoners".

Everyone should email the Prison Service and the Ministry of Home Affairs to demand more humane treatment for the inmates.


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