1937-12-15 — Page 9

THE CHINA MAIL, DECEMBER 15, 1987.

HONG KONG PRISON REFORM Food Scandal Suggested In Committee's Report

NEW DISCIPLINE,

DIFFERENT DIET,

AMONG PROPOSALS

Ived beyond doubt that the average cost of a hard labour scale diet is an ano- of a full diet per man varies from maly which should be removed" and $5.00 to $7.00 per month, and it is clear therefore that for prisoners of each therefore that the present cost of race one standard det only should be rationing prisoners in the Hong Kong used and this should only be varied by Prisons is exces ve. Singapore reorder of the Medical Officer We are ports that the ghest average daily informed that Class II diets are given cost of Chinese prisoners rations is to prisoners, in the case of Europeans 14.15 Cents (Singapore). We learned after three months, in the case. with some astonishment that the sys Indians and Chinese after six months. tem of tendering adopted by the Hong We are of the opinion that the Class ration, and for approximately 20 years for the most exhausting hard labour

"We learned with some astonishment that the Kong Prisons has many years been by I diet, Light Labour, is amply suficient system of tendering adopted by the Hong Kong has been obtained by a contractor m- that can at present be inflicted and no prisons has for many years been by ration and for deavoured to discover who this con-

der the sign of Hop Kee. We en-alteration in this respect is required. approximately 20 years has been obtained by a con-in Connaught Rosd with one clerk in only one could be said to be doing hard tractor under the sign of Hop Kee.

Labour We were informed that of tractor was but could only find an office 354 prisoners sentenced to hard labour attendance who professed to know labour. The Principal Warder in nothing about it. We are of the opin-charge of Industries at Stanley Prison ly be attended to, that the rations such thing as hard labour, only indus

"We endeavoured to discover who this contrac-ion that this matter should prompt informed us, that there was in fact no tor was but could only find an office in Connaught should be contracted for by weight and trial labour, and when we came over Road with one clerk in attendance who professed that the main items by weight be put to inquire into this we discovered that up to separate tender. In considering a man doing so-called hard labour in to know nothing about it.”

the diets we have recourse to the re-the boot-shop satisfied requirements if These are remarkable sentences in the Report established in 1931. Apparently Prof. slippers in 32 days and that a man commendation of the Diet Committee he turned out a pair of leather Chinese of the Committee appointed "to consider the recent

L T. Ride, though then in the Colony, actually works for 61⁄2 hours.

a day was not a member of this Committee only, excluding breaks for exercise and increase in the number of prisoners in the Colony diets sheets to him in his capacity 35 making coir mats where the stipulated We therefore submitted the existing congee. The hardest work is that of and to make recommendations in respect of such Chairman of the Nutrition Committee task is 1 sq. ft. of coir mat per day. increases,” which was laid on the table in Legisla- From these it is clear that the existing ley avoided as far as possible telling and his comments thereon are attached. It was noticeable that Pr. Warder Bag- tive Council this afternoon."

scales of diets are generous, if not ex-us what were the actual tasks he ex- cessive, and that readjustment could pected per diem of the prisoners. On The committee consisted of the gerers and malcontents.

very well be made without damage and inquiry among local boot making con- late Mr. T. A Mitchell, Mr. S. M Food: On investigating the ques-still further reduce the cost of main-tractors we discovered that an ordin Churn and Mr. E. L. Wynne-Jones the extremely high cost of the prison tention to Dr. Ride's, suggestion that would be expected to turn out two tion of diet, we were at once struck by tenance. We would specially draw atary bootmaker working on a contract (chairman), and the report says: diets. These are tendered for by the rice should be bought in bulk, un pairs per man per day, and as it seems A mass of evidence has been collectration and it appears that the present hulled, and that the daily ration should improbable that the remainder of the ed which is contained in the file attach-cost of a first class ration is 42 Cents be hrilled on the spot by a prison tasks set as labour to the prisoners are ed. A large part of the information per diem or about $13.00 per month per bourer, thereby ensuring (a) better any more exacting in nature we consi- contained therein is necessarily conf-head. This Committee caused careful storage of the grain, and (b) less like dered that this side of prison adminis dential and should not, in our opinion. inquiries to be made amongst local lihood of loss of the essential vita-tration should definitely be tightened be published.

firms employing large numbers of local mins.

up. This should be easy enough in the In approaching their task the Com-labourers hard, manual work, In view of the fact that the Chief case of a skilled or semi-skilled work- mittee first considered what were the amongst Chinese of the better paid Warder stated there was no hard laman employed on tasks such as print- principles of punishment as envisaged clerical class, and amongst Chinese bour" because no scale of hard labouring book-binding, boot-making, mat by our system of law, particularly in Police Constables Messes which are was laid down by the Governor in making and the like, but there remain regard to conditions in the Colony. Ac-Iself rum. These investigations pro- Council, we suggest that the existence

Continued on Page 16)-

cording to the text books, legal pun- ishment is to be regarded as penal, de- terrent and reformative, The penal side is largely governed by the type of sentence passed by the Bench, the de- terrent by a combination of the type of sentence and the conditions under which the sentence is carried out; the reformative only by the prison system itself. We considered that it was not within the scope of our inquiry to in- vestigate the sentence passed by the Judges of the Colony, though to some extent we have considered those passed by the Magistrates. The second and third purposes however were obviously within our purview and it is to these that we have mainly directed our `af- tention.

*

A consideration of the conditions un- der which sentence were carried out soon led us to divide the system under: four main headings-(a) accommoda- tion, (b) discipline, (c) food, and (d) labour

Accommodation:

It became evident.

at

that the average daily population of the Hong Kong Prisons was far in ex- cess of the space provided, the Acting Superinetendent of Prisons stated that Victoria Gaol was originally intended to hold 644 prisoners in single cells and Stanley Prison was built to accommo- date 1,500. At that moment about. 800 of the cells at Stanley were useless as they were without locks, but on the 24th June, the muster war-Victoria 1,- 228 and Stanley Gaol 1,154. On the 26th October, 1937, the muster Stanley was 2,599, Victoria Gaol having been closed. Mr. Hopkins were em- phatic that proper discipline could not be maintained without confinement în separate cells. He stated that those put in association however were short: sentence prisoners, Le, under two years. The number of convicts, ie, over two years, out of a total of 2,300 prisoners was 312. It is obvious therefore that unless some method is found to check the Bow of short sen- tence prisoners the present accommo dation of the Gaol is and will remain inadequate and to that extent wil nullify the disciplinary effects of in- prisonment.

Discipline: An examination of the Gaol timetable when compared with the daily routine provided at Changi Singapore, and what we saw, in the Canton Prison, led this Com mittle to the belief that prisonera in Hong Kong are given a comparatively easy time and it is our fixed opinion that a tightening up of discipline on £iis gide is necessary and would have a salutary effect. Our experience as Visiting Justices has more farm once led us to believe that sufficienty stem action has not been taken with matu

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