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Tuesday, December 30, 2008
 i slept too late this morning (4am) and woke up way too early this morning (8am) for the Ministry Of Home Affairs Career Fair at Suntec Convention Hall. I was so tired and the opening talk was so boring I thought I regretted agreeing to accompanying LK to the event. Boy, was I wrong! After the(very/ extremely/ absolutely) boring talk, we were brought to the Changi Airport to take a look at the security (Police, ICA, etc) at work. The job scope of the people in charge of the security of the travellers -- baggage checks, x-ray screens, etc. The usual stuff that you should have gone through if you have taken a plane before. Nothing too interesting but I was busy taking photos of the sky. No buildings, only trees and the sky. Beautiful. Had Mac's for lunch and after that headed for Changi Prison. That's where the fun started. After the usual administrative stuff -- exchanging the IC for a pass, locking all the belongings in the locker, we set off for Cluster A of Changi Prison. Cluster B is still in construction and there are 13 prisons in all in SG. All of which are going to be shifted to Changi so that it becomes a "Prison Hub". Cluster A has 5 institutions. A1 is the high security complex, A2 to A4 are the medium security complexes. A5 is the medium-low security complex. All the doors are opened by the control station electronically. And the prison was not musky or depressing. It was actually pretty good. Anyway, on the way in, the female officer was telling the girls that we should watch our body language since it is an all male prison and that they have had minimal contact with the fairer sex for a while. I was pretty disturbed by the way she put it, as if they were really bad and all. And in prison they have this policy that only one door is opened at any one time. so the door behind you closes before another door in front of you opens. And when the door closes, it does not close with a soft click. It closes with a resounding bang and you get the feeling that you are doomed. With my nerves working overtime from the words by the madam, the doors closing behind me was particularly grating on the nerves. I was nearly on the brink of losing my mind. We first went to the Career Resource Centre (CRC) where this inmate gave a presentation. He was so eloquent, so composed, so confident of what he was presenting! Makes me wonder what he did to warrant a jail term. I was totally impressed! And thus the eye-opening journey began. The prison day room was empty. I did not see any inmates around in their holding cells and I got to get closed in one of their prison cells for 8. the furnishing was barely there. a plastic box for the belongings, toiletries and 1 squating toilet. They bathe and do their business in the very cell they sleep in. It's pretty disturbing. And at first they have to be locked in for 23 hours a day with only 1 hour of yard exercise. Imagine 23hours in a stuffy room with 7 other people whom you don't know are friends or foe. I'd go out of my mind - not from claustrophobia, but from the squeeze and stuffy air. We then went to the indoor courtyard where some inmates were playing sepak takraw, bball and someone was playing guitar. The officer was telling us usually there would be about 100 in the courtyard and only 1 officer in the courtyard with them. Pretty intimidating. But most are at work, which explains for the emptiness of the place. After a tea break, with pastries made by the inmates (which were delicious), they said the inmates are going to give a performance. I was impressed by the test they have taken and how well they did for the music exams and by the performance. Totally impressive. Walking through A5, I was trying to imagine how my friend have lived inside. How his typical day was like. I have gone into the same complex he had been in, although maybe not the same day room and all. It must have been tough... -aeRieL-
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