Procedures
The Singapore Prison Service operates 5 prisons, including a women’s prison and a drug rehabilitation centre. The main prison is Changi Prison Complex. Those in remand are usually held at Cluster B, or Cluster A if they require medical or psychiatric assessment. On arrival at the prison, you will be strip searched, undergo medical checks which includes an x-ray, a blood test and have your fingerprints and photographs taken.
1. After you are sentenced by the judge, you can make a request to serve your prison term at a later date if you have valid reasons to do so. If not, you will be handcuffed and led to a detention centre, which is located at the basements of the Supreme Court and State Court buildings respectively.
2. You have to surrender all of your belongings to the officers at the detention centre. All items will be sealed and registered. You are advised to bring as little things as possible, except for some books which you can read during your time inside the prison.
3. You will be strip searched and given a pair of t-shirt and shorts to wear while you wait in a cell for a prison van to subsequently ferry you to Changi Prison. Food will be provided if you are in the holding cell during breakfast, lunch or dinner time.
4. During the registration process at the detention centre, you will be asked a series of questions, including what religious festivals you celebrate, your diet and your sexuality. In particular, they will ask whether you are straight or gay.
5. When you arrive at the prison complex, you will once again be subjected to a strip search and a series of questions about your health, dietary preferences and your sexuality. For the strip search, you will have to remove all your clothes, squat down, and open your mouth and stick out your tongue.
6. Once you are registered, you will be given a medium-sized transparent container which contains a few sets of t-shirts and shorts, a tooth paste, tooth brush, a plastic mug and a plastic spoon. These will be the only things you are allowed to have. You will then commence your sentence.
7. As part of the prison's proactive screening for Covid, all inmates are swabbed upon entry.
8. Upon completing their sentences, inmates are released usually between 11.30 am and 12.30 pm. If the release day falls on a Sunday or a public holiday, the inmate will be released on the previous day, which is a Saturday or the eve of a public holiday. There is a small waiting area outside Changi Prison (near bus stop number 97049) for friends and family.
Source: https://prisonlife.sg/
CNA did an interesting feature on Institution A4 formerly known as Changi Women's Prison some 4 years ago:
Inside Maximum Security
5 hardened criminals, 1 unique prison, in a ground breaking observational documentary. Singapore's Changi Prison is a concrete purgatory, spartan to the extreme. There are no beds, no pillows and no chairs in the cells. A shower is done stooping above a toilet hole. Humiliating strip searches are routine, as a matter of security. Yet, practiced in this prison are some of the most sophisticated methods to reform the hearts and minds of the most recalcitrant prisoners. So much so that Singapore's reoffending rates are among the lowest globally. Yet even at those low rates, at least 1-in-5 inmates are back in jail within 2 years after their release. For the first time ever, six inmates, incarcerated multiple times and at least once at maximum security, agree to reveal their full identities, for our cameras to capture their lives behind bars, as they unfold. Will the regime in jail finally be enough for them to renounce a life of crime? Will this be their final stint in Changi Prison?
https://www.mewatch.sg/show/Inside-Maximum-Security-267479
Wah after a prisoner's 屁股 kenna kissed by the rotan multiple times really 开花.....
Nevertheless it's rather insightful. Thanks for sharing.
Fyi that prison life site was set up by prominent faggoty activist Jolovan Wham.
Caning
The information in this section is written based on publicly available information, and personal anecdotes told to us. If you spot any inaccuracies, please let us know.
1. Caning in Singapore is applicable to males between the ages of 10 and 50, provided they are medically fit. Only the High Court can sentence a boy below the age of 16 (a juvenile) to caning. The maximum number of strokes that an adult can be subject to is 24, and 10 for a juvenile. In the case of an adult, the rattan may not be more than 1.27cm in diameter. A lighter rattan is used for a juvenile. However, the law does not specify the maximum dimensions for the lighter rattan to be used.
2. Inmates who have been sentenced to caning are not told when they will be caned. This information is made known to them on the day that they will be caned. A medical check-up is done to ascertain whether the inmate is medically fit for caning.
3. On the day of caning, the inmates to be caned are lined up outside the room where the caning takes place. Present in the room are the inmate who is being caned, the person carrying out the caning, a medical doctor, and the person who is next in line to be caned.
4. Inmates who are sentenced to the highest number of strokes (i.e. 24 strokes) go first, followed by inmates who have been sentenced to a lesser number of strokes, in decreasing order. All strokes of a cane that an inmate is sentenced to, is meted out all at once. If the caning is stopped as the inmate if deemed medically unfit to carry on with the caning, the offender may be given up to 12 months of imprisonment in place of the unfinished strokes.
5. The person who is carrying out the caning is only allowed to mete out 6 strokes at a time. In other words, if you are subject to 24 strokes, there will be 4 caners carrying out the caning. We have been informed that this is to preserve the strength of the strokes during the caning process.
6. During caning, the inmate is bent over an A-shaped frame, with his hands and feet bound. An "apron" is wrapped around the lower back of the inmate, to protect his kidneys and spine from strokes that are off-target. The buttocks are exposed.
7. Once the caning has been completed, the medical officer applies an antiseptic to the wounds. We understand that no further medical attention is given to the wounds unless it is medically necessary e.g. the wounds have become infected or if there is pus. We have been informed that it normally takes weeks for the wounds to heal. During this time, the inmate is unable to lie on his back or sit down. We have been informed that there are inmates who have been caned that still face kidney and urinary problems despite the protection that is given.
8. An inmate may also be sentenced to caning if he commits an aggravated offence while in prison. In this instance, an inmate cannot be sentenced to more than 12 strokes. The Commissioner of Prisons must approve this punishment before it is carried out.
Prisoners' rights
Notwithstanding personal anecdotes and prison practices that are found elsewhere in this website, the following is a non-exhaustive list of rights that prisoners are entitled to under Singapore law.
1. Every prisoner must be provided with regular meals that are nutritious enough for the basic health of the prisoner.
2. For prisoners who are sick, they should be set apart in a proper room, or infirmary.
3. All prisoners will be able to exercise in the open air to the extent necessary for their health. However, such exercise will be carried out in a way that prevents communication between prisoners. In practical terms, this usually means that every prisoner is entitled to 1 hour of yard time daily.
4. Prisoners cannot be made to work more than 8 hours in a day.
5. Prisoners are not required to work after 9.45 am on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
6. A prisoner's lawyer may visit him during working days (and working hours). A prisoner can also write letters to and receive letters from his lawyer.
7. Every prisoner who has a complaint may make one to the Chief Rehabilitation Officer (CRO), who is the chief resident discipline officer in the prison. The CRO should then take steps to address the complaint, or refer the complaint to the Superintendent.
8. A prisoner can be confined in a cell for breaching prison regulations. However, he should not be confined for more than 90 days in a year. If a prisoner is sentence to two periods of confinement, one after another, there must be a break between the two sentences. The duration of the break must be equal to, or longer than, the longer sentence period.
9. A prison officer cannot use a restraint on a prisoner unless it is necessary to prevent the inmate from causing self‑injury, injuring others, or escaping. The use of the restraint must be removed once it is no longer necessary. The type of restraint and the manner that the restraint is used, must be approved under the Prison Standing Orders.
10. A prisoner cannot be punished until he has been given a chance to hear the charges and evidence against him, and accorded the right to defend himself.
11. If the Superintendent has ordered a prisoner to undergo corporal punishment for an aggravated prison offence, an Institutional Discipline Advisory Committee must decide whether the punishment imposed on the prisoner is excessive. A list of 'aggravated prison offences' are found here.
Email and Communications Inmates will be given a tablet for a few hours each day which they can use to write e-letters and play games only. You cannot surf the internet with this tablet. 1 tablet per cell is given, which means you have to share it with whoever is in the cell with you. All e-letters will be read by the prison authorities first before you can send them out. Inmates normally gain access to the tablet after one week in prison. Through the tablet, there is no limit to the amount of e-letters that can be received by an inmate. Inmates can send up to 4 e-letters a month. All letters will be screened by prison authorities. Those who wish to access the service may do so here: https://eservice.sps.gov.sg/eletters/#/landing Inmates may receive an unlimited number of physical letters, but can only send up to two letters a month. Letters should contain the following information: (a) Name of inmate (b) Inmate No:
Visits Most inmates are allowed visits after their first month of stay. They are allowed a maximum of 2 visits per month, with a maximum of 1 face-to-face visit. For more information on prison visits, go to https://www.sps.gov.sg/connect-us
Work in Prison You are usually not allowed to work in the first 6 months of your sentence. You can apply for work, but such opportunities are limited, depending on what’s available. If you work, you will be paid a small amount each week. Your earnings can only be used to buy food and other items within the prison, and these are usually items in the vending machine. Study in Prison
Inmates can sit for the 'O' or 'A' Level examinations at the Tanah Merah Prison School. Inmates may also pursue a Diploma in Business Practice. Admission is based on the inmates' academic qualifications, their conduct in prison, as well as recommendations from supervisors. Reduction of Sentence
For sentences longer than one month, you may receive one third reduction of your sentence. Time served in prison while on remand will be set against your sentence. This means that if you were in remand for 1 month, any sentence will take this one month you served into consideration.
Cell conditions
1. You will share a cell with a few other inmates. How many inmates you share it with will depend on the size of the cell. Most cells will house a minimum of 4 and multiple-occupancy cells can house a maximum of 18 people. There are no windows for you to look out of.
2. There are no beds or mattresses. You have to sleep on the floor and you will be issued with a straw mat. It may be difficult to get used to sleeping on a hard floor during the first few nights. Many inmates use the extra sets of clothes given to them to cushion their backs and backsides so it is more comfortable.
3. The toilet is in the cell with a low wall to separate it from the rest of the cell.
4. Meals will be served to you through a sliding shaft at the bottom of the door. Breakfast is usually bread with butter or jam and coffee or tea. Lunch is usually Chinese vegetarian food, or rice with fishcake and vegetables. Dinner is usually local Malay/Indian food.
5. There are no fans in the cell. The only form of ventilation comes from a shaft above the door of the cell. As such, most male inmates will be shirtless while in the cell. You will not be issued with any underwear. The only time you need to wear a t-shirt is during the ‘master check’ which happens three times a day.
6. There are also no clocks and no way to tell time. You only know the time of the day when meals are served and when lights in the cell are switched on and off.
7. Every cell has a CCTV camera installed inside. You have to assume your movements are being watched all the time.
8. You are not allowed any personal possessions. You may be allowed to read the books you have brought in or which your family has given to prison authorities to pass to you, but these books will be screened and will usually take between 7 to 14 working days before you can read them. Only soft cover books are allowed, of no more than one inch thickness only.
Yard time and recreation
Inmates spend 23 hours in the cell and are allowed 1 hour of yard time everyday, excluding weekends. From what we understand, inmates are allowed to watch television, read magazines and newspapers 3 times a week. Not all news shall be made available. Ex inmates have shared with us specific news articles which prison authorities wish to deny you access will be expunged accordingly. Indoor yard time during which you can play sports and exercise happens twice a week.
There is no yard time during the Covid-19 pandemic. You will be confined for 24 hours for two weeks. Instead, you will be given books provided by the prison or games such as Chinese/Western chess.