PRISONS (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read. 12.13 pm

The Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law (Prof. S. Jayakumar): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the purpose of the Bill is to enable a Day Release Scheme to be introduced for convicted prisoners. Under this Scheme, elected long-term prisoners can opt to serve the last 12 months prior to release in a pre-release camp. They will be released in the day to work for an outside employer and return to the camp in the evening. Where possible, they will be given training to equip them with necessary skills. Plans are therefore under way to provide prisoners with VITB-type of training courses, such as tiling, paving, plastering, to prepare them for jobs outside the prison.

The Bill therefore will empower the Minister for Home Affairs to introduce such a Scheme for prisoners who are considered suitable to take up gainful employment while serving their sentences. The Bill provides for prisoners under the Scheme to be released daily to work outside the limits of any prison. The Minister is also empowered to make regulations for the purposes of the Scheme.

During this period when the convicted prisoners will work alongside ordinary workers, they will have the opportunity to prepare for normal life after release. It is hoped that it will also inculcate in them a sense of self-worthiness and social responsibility.

Sir, the Day Release Scheme for convicted prisoners will also be made available to short-term prisoners serving a sentence of less than six months, such as fine defaulters. Owing to their short imprisonment, they are not able to fully participate in educational and training programmes in the prison. Neither can they be employed in SCORE's workshops in the prison because of the high turnover which disrupts production. The opportunity for fine defaulters to work and earn market wages will also provide them with financial relief upon their release from prisons.

Participation in the Day Release Scheme for those eligible will be voluntary. They will be paid wages at market rates and also paid CPF allowances. They will also be covered by the Workmen's Compensation Act. They will be allowed to retain only sufficient money for fares and lunches and the balance of their wages will become compulsory savings, and with the prisoner's consent, their family members can draw from it.

Eligible prisoners will be considered for the Day Release Scheme by a Selection Committee chaired by a Justice of Peace. Prisoners with serious and violent criminal antecedents will not be considered for emplacement on the Scheme. Only those who are assessed to be capable of staying out of trouble and who do not pose a criminal or security threat will be selected. Prison officers furthermore will carry out spot checks on prisoners' conduct and behaviour at the worksites. Those who breach the conditions of the Work Order or involve themselves in crime will be immediately taken off the Scheme and sent back to the prison to serve out their term.

In introducing this Scheme, we are relying on our experience gained from the existing Day Release Schemes which were introduced for drug addicts in 1979, Criminal Law detainees in 1981 and Reformative trainees in 1982. The releasees under those Schemes commute daily to work in participating employers' factories outside the prisons and return to the prisons at the end of the day. They are paid wages at market rate as well as CPF allowances. More than 4,000 persons have successfully completed the Scheme since its inception. They were engaged either in construction work or in the manufacturing and service sectors.

The records show that the recidivism rate of drug addicts who had gone through a stint on the Day Release Scheme is much -lower at 48.7%, as compared to 58.5% for those who did not. Similarly, for the categories of Criminal Law detainees and Reformative trainees, there is a lower recidivisim rate. As at 31st March 1985, 403 Criminal Law detainees and 77 Reformative trainees had successfully completed the Day Release Scheme. The relapse rates of Criminal Law detainees and the Reformative trainees are 8.8% and 23.3% respectively. Comparing these rates with those of convicted prisoners, which is 32.3%, we can conclude that such Day Release Schemes do help to facilitate the prisoners' reintegration into society.

This Scheme will be implemented by the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE), whose experience in providing jobs for prisoners, its existing administrative set-up, and its contacts with employers in the private sector will ensure the smooth and efficient implementation of this Scheme.

Sir, our penal system in Singapore is aimed at striking a balance between the deterrent factor and the rehabilitation factor. The mainstay of our rehabilitation strategy is the work programme. A statutory board, as I have said, has successfully been running vocational workshops within our penal institutions since 1976. The prisoners are paid market wages for the work done in the Day Release Scheme. Within the prison workshops, they are paid wages based on the level of skill pegged on graded performance. They can remit their savings home. Work as an ethos, discipline, self-image and responsibility towards the family are built up.

Besides work therapy, the rehabilitation programme also includes education, recreation and religious activities. A comprehensive in-prison educational programme is manned by a Principal Education Officer and 14 officers from the Ministry of Education. Academic classes for the qualifying test of 'O' and 'A' levels are conducted to help those with potential. From 1981 to 1984, a total of 239 prisoners sat for the GCE 'O' level examinations in the three language streams. 122 of them passed the examination. For the same period, 19 prisoners sat for the GCE 'A' level examinations, of which one obtained a full certificate whilst the rest had one to three passes in subjects at principal level.

Finally, Sir, the introduction of Day Release Scheme for prisoners will, as with the other Day Release Schemes, bridge the gap between institutional life and their release into free society. It will facilitate their reintegration into society to function as socially responsible and law-abiding citizens.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Dr Augustine Tan: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think hon. Members would surely welcome this Bill as part of the effort to rehabilitate our prisoners. And as the Minister puts it very well, we seek to have a balance between the deterrent or punitive aspect of prison and the need for rehabilitation of prisoners. I also welcome the information he provided to this House in respect of the education, training and counselling that prisoners receive.

Sir, l need a few points of clarification on this Bill. As the Minister said in his speech, the scope for the day release scheme seems to be much more restricted than the Bill allows for. In other words, as I read the amendment Bill, it seems to allow any category of prisoners to be released, subject to the discretion of the Minister. I wonder whether that is his intention. As long as the Bill allows this, would the Minister consider allowing long-term prisoners to be put on this scheme to work outside, other than the last 12 months of their prison sentence? The fact that they are serving a long prison sentence means that there is considerable disorientation. And if these prisoners have shown that they are capable of good conduct over the years in prison, then surely they would be deserving of an earlier involvement in such a scheme.

I would also like to seek assurance from him in regard to those prisoners who are denied access to this day release scheme. What avenues of appeal are available to the prisoners?

Lastly, Sir, there is the question of employment of ex-prisoners. What measures has the Government taken to help these ex-prisoners reintegrate into society? For example, are Government jobs open to ex-prisoners who have shown good conduct, who have managed to get further education and training while they were in prison?

Mr Jeyaretnam: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I welcome the Bill and give it the support from my Party as well. May I ask the Minister a few questions, particularly regarding the terms and conditions of the engagement of prisoners? I see under the Bill that the Minister will prescribe, by regulations, the terms and conditions of engagement of these prisoners at their places of work. May I ask whether it is the intention that the Prison authorities should find the work for them? Or is it proposed that the prisoners themselves may apply for work at factories or at places of employment of their own choice? Is it the intention that the prisoners will be allowed to contract with the employers directly and secure the best bargain for themselves? Or will all this be regulated by the Prison authorities?

Secondly, Sir, about the wages paid to the prisoners who partake in this scheme, I understood the Minister to say that they will be paid market rates. Again, are these market rates to be fixed beforehand by the Prison authorities, or would they be a matter of negotiation in each particular case, ie, with each particular employer? Because if they are fixed beforehand, then they cease to be market rates.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I ask about the retention of part of the wages by the prisoners? The Minister has said that they would be allowed to retain part of it for the payment of food and travelling expenses. May I ask for what food consumed are they expected to make payment? Is it for the food consumed in the prison, or is it at the work place only?

Finally, about the availability of the wages for the families of the prisoners. I understood the Minister to say that the rest of the wages, after paying for their food and travelling expenses, will be put into a compulsory savings account from which members of the family may be able to withdraw. I would ask that consideration be given to letting the family have the whole of the balance of the wages. I know of cases where the families have been very badly hit financially and embarrassed by finding the breadwinner in prison, suddenly. What is the objection to letting the family have the rest of the earnings without them having to make an applica- tion for every specific need? Would the Minister consider that?

Maj Fong Sip Chee (Kampong Chai Chee)( In Mandarin): Sir, the Bill has just been briefly explained by the Minister. This scheme will enable our prisoners to be trained to make a living when they are released from the prison and return to society. So it merits our support. But there are a few points to raise. In the past, the Minister has been a Minister for Labour and, therefore, he is quite familiar with this type of Bill. Since the Bill will allow the Minister to stipulate regulations to enable prisoners to go out to work, it is really too good. But the question is, if he goes out as a worker, what kind of worker do we regard him? I am not joking. Maybe some people will say that he is a captive labour. If he is getting the same rate of wages as other workers, that means we are recognizing the labour and effort that he is putting in.

What the Minister has neglected is the welfare benefit that such kind of workers should get. If there is any industrial accident, I would like to ask whether this kind of workers could get any benefit or compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act. They are actually workers because they are working outside the prison and not inside the prison. If they could get benefits of workmen's compensation when working outside, then by the same rationale those working inside the prison should also receive similar benefits. I would like to ask the Minister whether there is such a legislation. If not, whether he can provide such a legislation so that they may also benefit. Moreover, employers will also be required to insure them against any industrial accident. This is the first point.

Then since they are recognized as ordinary workers, if any accident should take place, or if there is any matter involving a worker's benefit, could any trade union have the right to represent them in a claim for any compensation or benefit? This is a fundamental question. What problems they face outside the prison may not be the same as those obtaining inside. Maybe the food in the factory is not too good, or such like problems. Can the unions do something on their behalf? I would like to ask whether such prisoners will have the right to claim equal treatment as ordinary workers outside. We should not neglect them just because of their prisoners' status. So I would like to ask the Minister whether in the proposed legislation there is any provision enabling trade unions within certain degrees to represent them and claim benefits for them. If they are union members, then it is a different matter. Further, if the employers would support the unions in their recruitment of membership drive, whether the unions can accept such workers as members?

Prof. Jayakumar: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank the Members who have spoken.

Let me deal with the points raised by the Member for Whampoa first. His first question was whether long-term prisoners would be allowed to be released for periods longer than the last 12 months. We do not exclude this. But our approach is to first try this limited scheme and see how it works. Based on the experience after some time, l am prepared to consider expanding and improving the scheme.

The second point on which the Member wanted clarification was whether, in the process of determining who can be selected for the day release scheme, there will be some method of giving persons who are not selected a method of lodging an appeal. This is a good point and I will ask my officials to look into providing such an avenue.

Thirdly, the Member wanted to know whether there are any efforts or steps taken to look into the welfare of prisoners after their release. I wish to assure him that this is being done, not only by the Singapore Aftercare Association but also through the Department in the Ministry of Community Development which is involved with the rehabilitation and counselling of prisoners.

With regard to the first point raised by the Member for Anson concerning the terms and conditions which would be the subject of regulations to be done subse- quently, he wanted to know whether it will be the individual prisoner who negotiates with the employers or whether it will be done by the relevant administering authority or the Prisons. The answer is that it will be done by the relevant authority which, in this case, will be SCORE. The reason is that it is the most practical solution to our problem because we must be confident of certain conditions, the place of work, the kind of employment, who he comes into contact with, the possibilities of contamination, escape and so on. Also, it has to be done on a fairly large bulk basis, and it will be very difficult to administer the scheme if every individual is a free agent to seek his own employment. Supervision will be very difficult.

The Member's second point is the question as to wages and market rates and whether this will be negotiated, again, by the individual or by the administering authority. Here again, for practical purposes, it must be done by the administering authority in order to get employers, manufacturers or the service sector to participate in the scheme.

The third point is with regard to the retention of wages. He wanted to know the method in which the wages are retained. What actually happens is that the prisoner on the scheme opens an account with the POSB and the monies are credited to the POSB account. It gathers interest. He withdraws whatever money he needs that is allowed for his purposes, and the family is also allowed to withdraw the money.

His question, I believe, was also whether in certain cases where the family is in dire straits, whether we would allow the family to use the entire amount. My understanding is that we are not very rigid on this and in deserving cases we have, in fact, allowed the family to withdraw a considerable amount. I am not against the family withdrawing the entire amount if the prisoner consents to it.

The Member for Kampong Chai Chee has asked certain interesting questions. First of all, his question was whether workmen's compensation would be applicable. The answer, as I have said in my Speech is, yes, workmen's compensation will apply to those released on the Day Release Scheme because they are working outside the prison.

As to whether some sort of insurance or workmen's compensation scheme should apply within prisons, this is a separate matter which I am prepared to look into.

His question as to whether trade unions can organize and recruit, the answer to that is, of course, no. Because prisoners are convicted persons and are unlike any other law-abiding ordinary persons who have not been convicted. It makes a mockery of the whole system of arrest, punishment and incarceration if we remove all distinctions between prisoners and law-abiding citizens.

Maj Fong Sip Chee: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir -

Mr Deputy Speaker: Maj Fong, you have already spoken once in the debate.

Maj Fong Sip Chee: Just a clarification.

Mr Deputy Speaker: All right.

Maj Fong Sip Chee: When I asked the question, I had in mind, just in case, some over-zealous employer taking too seriously the NTUC campaign on recruitment. So I want the Minister to make a statement that they are not eligible.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Prof. Jayakumarl.

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.