Prison is not a joke at all. Millions of felons are sentences to prison sentences that they serve and are not having fun at all. This becomes especially true outside of the United States. Yes, the United States has some seriously difficult prisons to get through, but when you seek out international elements, the difficulty of survival ramps up exponentially. For instance, you’re going to find that a Singapore prison could absolutely change the way that you see the penal system across the world. Survival here is not simple, and exploring this a bit deeper may help you understand how this can work out for you and those that are in fact stuck there.
Looking Good
First it’s important to look into the Singapore Prison Service. This is an agency that is run by the government and works with 14 prisons. Now, if you are taken to one of these 14, you will not find things to be as bad as other areas. In fact, this is a modern area that offers more than just imprisonment. It’s a locale where you are going to be working within the world custody, rehabilitation, and much more. There’s even education and more. This is a lightweight option, although it’s still prison. There are a lot of people locked up in Singapore and they get rehabilitated, and help with moving forward through the system. That is only 14 prisons that are located under the banner of this solution.
The Penal System
The penal code in Singapore is much like other areas, including offenses that could be found within drug use and trafficking, abuse, murder, and the likes. Some even give you the death penalty, including murder, kidnapping, perjury, and much more. There’s a lot of elements that go into this, and if you’re caught doing these acts, you can be sentenced to death.
There have been changes in the penal system and Law of Singapore that dates back to the 1820s. However, in these modern times, you’ll find that the law is very much like English laws. Case law is usually referenced in this case. Indian law is also common here as well. It has been said that the law is statutory in nature, and there are several acts that go into this. The society regulates certain laws that others may not see as crimes. For instance, jaywalking, flushing, and even chewing gum is not legal.
The penal elements associated with prisons are given 3 major categories. Maximum, medium, and minimum in terms of security and structure.
The Prison Element
Now, there are the “good” prisons as mentioned above, but they are not the norm. There are some extremes that you’ll no doubt want to know about and stay clear from. Those that are sentenced to serve in maximum security, hard prisons, will find that every solution may differ from others. But there are some common traits to consider.
Journalists that have come back from being prisoners in Singapore have noted that individuals could be confined to small quarters for 23 hours a day, without seeing daylight. They may not have fans, or air conditioning, even in the hottest of days. There may also be no personal items whatsoever, with the sole exceptions of paperbacks and the likes. Military style rules are placed into some of the blocks, including head shaving, and focus on mundane tasks which are repetitive in nature.
Caning is normal in many prisons, especially after being convicted of certain crimes. This is on top of prison sentences.
Surviving In Singapore Prisons
Assuming that you are not a native, you will need to know the language. If you don’t know the language, then you may have a translator, or you may not. There’s no guarantee on this notion. However, you will be facing one of three types of prisons. For the most part, individuals that are not native to Singapore will be put into medium or minimum security prisons. These are still locked areas, and you are not going to be relaxing in humane conditions most often. Surviving these quarters requires you to focus on several elements that will help you get your time served, and possibly gone.
Staying Quiet – the first major thing that you may want to do is stay quiet. Unless you’re spoken to and you know what is being asked, it’s imperative that you do not make a lot of noise or draw attention to yourself. Chances are you’ll be left alone, and will have to just deal with the long hours and constant boredom of being locked up. If you know the language, speak when asked, but do not be conversational in your time.
Keep Out of Trouble – simple and plain as this sounds, it’s imperative that you stay out of trouble. Just keep to yourself, and try not to do anything that is going to draw attention. Just like the tip above, just staying put is going to be your best bet.
Rehab Services – there are some prisons that have rehab services, and if they offer these things, take them up on the opportunity, and again just focus on the time you’re serving.
Far More To Explore
When it comes to trying to figure out the ins and outs of prisons, you’ll find that the aforementioned is just a basic run down of some of the main points. There’s a lot more to explore when it comes to criminal law, crime, punishment, and more. You may never see a prison cell, for instance, you may commit a crime and go through a caning. You may end up dealing with a community service type of issue, or a fine. There are so many variables that it becomes difficult to illustrate the exact thing that will occur when you’re confronted with crime within this region of the world. Most often, if you’re going to any prison, you’ll want to adhere to the simple mindset of obedience. Obey the officers, keep your head down, be quiet, and just let time pass, that’s the best thing you can do.