History Singapore Prison Service

1 history

1.1 1800 - 1899
1.2 1900 - 1999
1.3 2000 – present

history
1800 - 1899

on 18 april 1825, first batch of penal convicts arrived in singapore , housed in temporary huts along bras basah canal.the philosophy of deterrence through punitive measures rather rehabilitation adopted. in 1847, civil jail built @ pearl’s hill overcrowding remained perennial problem , continued punitive approach in prison management led high rate of recidivism.

1900 - 1999

changi prison, maximum security prison, built , operationalised in 1936 training ground reform , rehabilitation of inmates. singapore prison service institutionalised department in 1946 , g e ww bayly became first commissioner. on 1 november 1973, quek shi lei appointed director of prisons.

the ministry of home affairs set prisons re-organisation committee review system of rehabilitation, industrial training , work discipline. new system of classification adopted in inmates grouped sixteen classes under 3 broad categories.

on 1 january 1988, tee tua ba took on director of prisons, while quek shi lei acted advisor singapore prison service , became ceo, singapore corporation of rehabilitative enterprises (score).

when tee tua ba posted singapore police force (spf) commissioner of police on 1 july 1992, poh geok ek took on directorship of singapore prison service until 1 november 1998.

another milestone in singapore prison service’s history official opening of tanah merah prison , changi women’s prison/drug rehabilitation centre on 23 april 1994 minister home affairs, wong kan seng.

in 1998, chua chin kiat took on director of singapore prison service poh geok ek when latter retired. under chua’s directorship, singapore prison service organised visioning exercise in january 1999 collectively craft shared vision , conduct review of mission better accommodate changing needs , expectations of stakeholders , public.

on 31 december 1999, @ groundbreaking ceremony redevelopment of changi prison complex, guest-of-honour, minister home affairs, wong kan seng unveiled new vision , revised mission “captain of lives” tagline.

2000 – present

on 3 january 2000, kaki bukit centre established prison school inmates’ education , skills learning. teaching resources centralised , more inmates able pursue further education.

changi prison s main building (built 2000)

presently, new changi prison or changi prison complex houses serious criminal offenders in country, including criminal offenders serving long sentences , have been sentenced death. changi prison complex serves detention site death row inmates @ changi, before executed hanging, traditionally on friday morning. 1 of main places (though not one) judicial corporal punishment caning carried out. caning sessions @ changi held twice per week. former employee of prison quoted in 1995 saying: flogging more , more these days. before doing maybe 60 on tuesdays , fridays, re doing hundred .

the yellow ribbon project launched in october 2004 raise public awareness , acceptance of community towards ex-offenders, garner community support inmates’ re-integration society.

on 1 november 2007, ng joo hee took on office chua chin kiat, latter moving on become executive director or aetos security management. in same year, selarang park prison/drc transformed community supervision centre manage inmates emplaced on community based programmes , released on supervision.

after 2 years director of prisons, ng joo hee moved on become commissioner of police. on 1 january 2010, soh wai wah took on office , current director of prisons. soh oversaw official opening of new prison cluster in changi prison complex - cluster b, on 20 january 2010.