Prison Life Pt.5: Transformation Of One Of The Ten Most Wanted Men In Singapore

Testimony of Neivelle Tan
(extracted from the book "Meet Neivelle Tan" by Viola Phillips, Anderson, Indiana, U.S.A.)
Neivelle's brush with the law began when he was just fourteen. He became involved with gangland activities after his release from prison at the age of sixteen. By the time he was seventeen he had become one of the top gang leaders in Singapore. At seventeen and half he was involved in a major gang war which resulted in the death of an opposing gang member. He was sentenced to hang for his involvement in the gang murder. To continue click here

Prison Life Pt. 4

Date: 2007-01-11, 3:33AM SGTI just want to say a few things about the "reformative training center" better known as RTC. First and foremost, this is coming from an ex-inmate.(just so you know that I'm talking facts and not fiction). I don't think it works and it never will. "Reformative" for me is derived from words such as reform, remold, made-new, etc. As the old saying goes, "you do the crime, you do the time". I can live with that. You see when you get sentenced to "RTC" you are first put in a seperate cell block away from tha general population. Here is where I was introduced to the guards fist and insults, day in and day out. I know it's not some holiday camp that I'm in, but grab a brain! Try insulting your kids or punching them in the stomach as a form of disciplining and lets see the effects. I'm now in my mid 30's and those guards must be somewhere in their 50's. I'll never forget their faces as long as I live. What goes around comes around. Watch your backs you self-righteous, pieces of shit!!!! serpent3911
Location: once upon in RTC
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interestsPosting ID: 260555579"

Author:

I took this article from the Internet. It was posted by an ex- RTC inmate who looked like one not believing in the reform system.
Read on and post some comments please.

"Prison me no way"

Staged reconstruction of a judicial caning in a Singapore Prison.This video "Prison me no way" was made and shown to discourage our young from getting involved in crimes.

Caning or we call it rotan.

Caning or rotan is prescribed to offenders who commits serious crimes by the courts or to the inmates who breaks major inhouse rules like attempted escape, rioting, talking drugs etc. It could range from 3 strokes to a maximum of 24 strokes at one go.

Pictures of "Inmates in Pulau Senang".

Above pictures by courtesy of Singapore MediaCorp.

The True 'reasons' for the Pulau Senang Riot of 1963.

Many could have read about the reasons given in the media for the deadly riots at Pulau Senang on 12th July 1963.( please refer to my posting on 31st Dec).
There were reports of hard labour and long hours of work on the island for the hardcore inmates. There was also reports of the feeling amongst the inmates that the system of detention with little hope of release was unfair and biased. Corruptions and favouritism were also among the reasons.
While I agree with all the above reasons,the underlying causes were more insidious.
As far as my sources were concerned, the anger brought about by the officers and warders were intolerable, to the extent the inmates were willing to die to avenge what these staff had done to some of them.
I was told of staff (officers and warders) who had demanded sex from the inmates' wives and girlfriends.
There were also demands and offers of bribes in the way of gifts and cash.
Those ,whose wives or girlfriends did not meet the staff's demands would be severely disadvantaged.
They would be woken up in the middle of the night to repair buildings, accommodations,roads etc. which were damaged by storms and other acts of nature.
Reports on their conducts would also be unfavourable, which means their chances of release would also be zero.
For those who complied with the staff's terms and demands,they received favours like having better conduct reports,more cigarettes,longer rest periods,lesser work etc.
These unfair and unscrupulous practices angered the inmates who then planned to riot and killed all the staff.
Some of the targeted staff managed to escape unharmed by hiding themselves.
When the superintendent was caught by the inmates,they not only hacked him to death. They dug out his eyes and cut off his genitals and shoved them into his mouth.
What a way to die for superintendent Dutton and his two other staff?

Pulau Senang Riot Secrets are coming out!

The reasons for the deadly P. Senang riots where so many lives were lost would be told in my next article. This comes after some 43 years later. Nothing of this sort was ever told to the public or revealed in the press,I believed. You would read here about the inside stories and reasons for the riots.
So watch out for the next posting.

Map of Pulau Senang/Singapore.

Location Map of Pulau Senang

Click on the map to navigate.

The 1963 Deadly Riot At Pulau Senang

Pulau Senang was a penal experiment where prisoners were allowed to roam freely on the island. It was thought that detainees could be reformed through manual labour.
The settlement started on 18 May 1960, when 50 detainees arrived with Superintendent Daniel Dutton. Over the next three years, the number of detainees rose to 320, and they transformed the island into an attractive settlement.
Believing that through hard work, the detainees could be reformed. Dutton removed arms from the guards. On 12 July 1963, a group of some 70 to 90 detainees rioted and burned down most of the buildings. They hacked Dutton to death and killed two other officers. 58 people were accused of rioting and murdering Dutton and officers Arumugan Veerasingham and Tan Kok Hian.
Because of the large number of the accused, a special dock had to be constructed for them. The case went to trial on 18 November and lasted an unprecedented 64 days. On 12 March 1964, the seven-member jury found 18 of the accused guilty of murder, 18 guilty of rioting with deadly weapons and 11 guilty of rioting. The remaining 11 accused were acquitted. Those found guilty of murder were sentenced to death, while those found guilty of rioting with deadly weapons were sentenced to three years of imprisonment; the rest to two years of imprisonment.
Most of those involved in the rioting were members of secret societies who were detained without trial and had no hope of leaving the island. As a result of the riots, the penal experiment came to an abrupt end.