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/