About Us, Our History, Singapore Prison Service

Mission & Vision

Organisation Chart

Changi Prison Complex

Our History

Our Transformation

PSRC ClubNet

2 July 2009

Prisoners display artistic flair
A guaranteed roof over their heads and three square meals a day do not mean prisoners here are oblivious to the pressures of the free world outside.

24 June 2009

Prisoners put together National Day funpacks
The 88 inmates at Tanah Merah Prison, all volunteers, are working as part of the collaborative effort...

21 June 2009

Inmates serve up Father's Day family treat
Twelve inmates celebrated Father's Day with their families yesterday as part of the Yellow Ribbon Project's...

Year 1825

Penal Settlement – The Original Jail

On 18 April, the first batch of penal convicts arrived in Singapore and they were housed in temporary huts along Bras Basah Canal.
The philosophy of deterrence through punitive measures rather than rehabilitation was adopted.

Year 1841

First Convict Gaol Constructed by the Colonial Government

From 1841 to 1936, four prisons were built by the British to house the convicts. The Convict Gaol located at Bras Basah was the first to be built.

Year 1847

Civil Jail

Civil Jail at Pearl’s Hill was built. However, overcrowding remained a perennial problem and continued punitive approach in prison management led to an extremely high rate of recidivism.

Year 1872

Establishment of the First Ever Prisons Commission of Inquiry

The Prisons Commission of Inquiry was established to look into prison management reforms and prison discipline. This became the basis of the 1872 Prisons Ordinance, which was enacted on 15 November.

Year 1877

Trained Prison Warders

The British implemented the policy to recruit trained prison warders from British India.

Year 1882

HMS Criminal Jail

A new Convict Gaol, the Her Majesty's Service (HMS) Criminal Jail was built beside the Civil Jail at Pearl’s Hill. Both Civil Jail and HMS Criminal Jail were jointly administered and were known as Outram Prison.

Year 1936

Changi Prison – Last Prison Built by the British

Changi Prison, a maximum security prison, was built and operationalised in 1936.
“It is hoped that in due course this Prison may become a training ground for the misfits of society, rather than a purely penal institution.” – OC Hancock, Inspector of Prisons of the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States, at the opening of Changi Prison on 4 January 1937. With this, a new philosophy of reform and rehabilitation was promulgated.

Year 1946

Institutionalisation of SPS

SPS was institutionalised as a Department and Mr G E W W Bayly became its first Commissioner.

Year 1959

Prisons Inquiry Commission was Formed

Singapore took on the task of reviewing its prison system. A Prisons Inquiry Commission, headed by Mr C V Devan Nair, was set up in November to make recommendation for changes to the existing system. The commission helped to establish the theoretical framework for penal management in the years to come.

Year 1963

Major Prison Disturbance

A mutiny broke out in Pulau Senang on 12 July. The Superintendent and his key officers were brutally murdered by the rioters. This major incident demonstrated that safe and secure custody should never be taken for granted.

Year 1973

Directorship of Mr Quek Shi Lei (1 Nov 1973 - 31 Dec 1987)

Mr Quek Shi Lei was appointed Director of Prisons on 1 November.

The Misuse of Drugs Act

In the early 1970s, there was a drastic increase in the number of young drug abusers. The Misuse of Drugs Act was passed in July to take tough actions, including the enforcement of strict sentences and compulsory treatment and rehabilitation, against drug traffickers.
The Opium Treatment Centre at St John’s Island, which treated mainly opium addicts, was converted into the first Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) under the Act. It was relocated in 1976 to mainland Singapore at Telok Paku to deal with the increasing number of heroin abusers.

Year 1974

Prisons Re-Organisation Committee

MHA set up a Prisons Re-Organisation Committee to review the system of rehabilitation, industrial training and work discipline. A new system of classification was then adopted in which inmates were grouped into sixteen classes under three broad categories.

Year 1975

The SCORE Act

Following recommendations from the Prisons Re-organisation Committee, the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) Act was passed in November. SCORE was run as a statutory board to streamline and improve the management and operations of prison industries.

The Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act

The Amendment Act enforced mandatory death penalty for traffickers with more than 15 grams of heroin or 30 grams of morphine on 12 Dec.

Year 1977

Operation Ferret

An island wide “Operation Ferret” was launched on 1 April to flush out an estimated 13,000 heroin abusers. Additional DRCs had to be acquired and gazetted to accommodate the drug abusers. By the year end, 6,972 drug abusers were arrested and incarcerated in DRCs.

Treatment & Rehabilitation, 1977-1987

With the launch of “Operation Ferret”, treatment and rehabilitation were structured in five stages and administered by SPS. The period of detention was set between six months and three years and each case was reviewed every six months by the various DRC Review Committees.

Year 1979

Day Release Scheme

In 1979, with the amendment of the Misuse of Drugs Act, the Day Release scheme was introduced for selected inmates nearing the end of their sentences to help them re-integrate into society.

Year 1980

Two-Tier Rehabilitation Programme 1980-1981

In 1980, under the direction of the Cabinet, a new strategy based on key principles of segregation and rehabilitation was introduced to reduce recidivism amongst inmates.
In October 1981, a two-tier rehabilitation programme consisting of an Institutionalised Rehabilitation Programme and an Individualised Rehabilitation Programme was implemented for inmates.

Year 1986

Review of Two-Tier Rehabilitation Programme

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social Affairs (now known as Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports) engaged consultants to conduct a review of the two-tier Rehabilitative Programme.
The consultants identified difficulties in co-ordination, role conflicts and poor quality of rehabilitative services offered as the major shortcomings of the programme. They recommended SPS to be solely responsible for the implementation of the programme.

Year 1987

Change in Treatment Philosophy for Drug Abuse

A major change in the treatment philosophy for drug abuse was adopted. Drug abuse was regarded as a social and behavioural problem rather than a medical one. The abuser’s desire to change would be crucial for effective rehabilitation.

The Treatment and Rehabilitation of Inhalant Abusers

Inhalant abuse (“glue-sniffing”) became a problem in the 1980s with a large number of abusers below 20 years old.
The Intoxicating Substances Act 1987 came into effect in November to curtail the problem of inhalant abuse. Following this, Falkland Centre was set up to provide counselling, treatment and rehabilitation.

Amendment of the SCORE Act

The SCORE Act was amended in 1987 to provide for SCORE’s role in aftercare.

Year 1988

Directorship of Mr Tee Tua Ba (1 January 1988-1 July 1992)

On 1 January, Mr Tee Tua Ba took over office as Director of Prisons while Mr Quek Shi Lei acted as advisor to SPS and became CEO, SCORE.
SPS Mission and Operations Philosophy, which formed the guiding principles on inmate management, were promulgated.

Formation of Specialised Counselling Branch (SCB)

SCB was established on 1 April following the change in the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers. Three new units, namely the Anti-Inhalant Abuse Counselling Unit, the Exit Counselling Unit and the Intensive Counselling Unit were set up under the SCB to provide counselling services for inhalant and drug abusers.

Specialised Drug Counselling Programmes, 1988-1989

Two specialised drug counselling programmes, namely the Exit Counselling Programme and Intensive Counselling Programme were introduced on 18 April and 3 October respectively to treat and rehabilitate drug inmates.

Developments in the Role of SCORE, 1988-1989

Apart from the provision of work and training programmes for inmates, SCORE was also involved in the provision of specialised counselling programmes for drug inmates.
Following the amendment of the SCORE Act, SCORE formed an Industrial and Services Cooperative Society (ISCOS) to develop viable business activities involving ex-offenders.

Year 1991

Prisons 3-Phase Rehabilitation Programme

The Intensive Drug Counselling Programme was refined into the 3-Phase Programme which marked another important milestone in SPS’s continual search for improvement in its drug treatment and rehabilitation programmes.
The 3-Phase Programme (3PP) was implemented in April. It comprised 3 phases namely (1) Institutional Treatment and Rehabilitation, (2) Institutional Day Release Scheme and (3) Residential Day Release Scheme with Electronic Monitoring System (EMS).

The Integrated Rehabilitation System

The 2-Tier Rehabilitation Programme was revamped and introduced as theIntegrated Rehabilitation System under SPS management in April.

Year 1992

Directorship of Mr Poh Geok Ek (1 July 1992-1 November 1998)

On 1 July, Mr Poh Geok Ek took over office from Mr Tee Tua Ba who was posted to Singapore Police Force (SPF) as Commissioner of Police.

Redevelopment Plans of Changi Prison Complex (CPC)

The master plan for the re-development of Changi Prison Complex was undertaken to maximise and rationalise land use, enhance rehabilitation capabilities and improve operational effectiveness via state-of-the-art technology.

Year 1993

SPS’s Pioneering Role In Rehabilitating Drug Abusers

Singapore became one of the first countries in the world to introduce Naltrexone, a narcotic antagonist that nullifies the effects of heroin on users, on 2 August.

Year 1994

Official Opening of Tanah Merah Prison and Changi Women’s Prison/Drug Rehabilitation Centre

Tanah Merah Prison and Changi Women’s Prison/Drug Rehabilitation Centre were officially opened by Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Wong Kan Seng, on 23 April. Based on the then latest contemporary prison design, these two purpose-built prisons served as the flagship institutions leading SPS into the 21st century.

Year 1995

Implementation of Revamped DRC Regime

The Revamped DRC Regime was implemented, which saw the introduction of Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) and expanded use of narcotic antagonist. Hardcore (3rd timers and above) drug inmates were subjected to a tough, penal-like regime with reduced privileges.

Halfway House (HWH) Scheme

The HWH Scheme was implemented on 1 April to involve the active support and contribution of the community in Singapore’s anti-drug efforts.

Year 1996

Revision of SPS Mission and Operations Philosophy

SPS Mission statement, Operations Philosophy and corporate statement were revised in March 1996. A set of Core Values was also adopted.

Year 1998

Prisons Aftercare Supervision Section (PASS)

SPS took over the aftercare supervision of Reformative Trainees, Corrective Trainees and Preventive Detainees from Ministry of Community Development in July. The Prisons Aftercare Supervision Section was set up for this purpose.

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