

“During an offender’s jail term, the punitive element of imprisonment should not overshadow its reformative aspect.” – Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, 2006
Singapore has a zero tolerance towards drugs. Drug trafficking carries a mandatory death sentence and drug abuse is a criminal offence that carries a jail sentence. Repeat drug offenders are subject to long prison sentences. In Singapore’s low crime environment, drug related offences account for 4646 out of a total of 6934 inmate population (2020 Singapore Prison Service Report).
Researchers Justin Lee and Fern Yu in a commentary published on Channel New Asia succinctly highlighted the issues with reintegration. They noted that the Singapore criminal justice system has taken the lead in showing willingness to ”forgive and forget”. There is a provision in place for those who were convicted of less serious crimes to have their criminal record spent if they stayed crime free for five years. Organisations like Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-offenders (CARE) Network, and the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) are set up to coordinate efforts of various organisations and to oversee employment and skills training respectively.
Research showed that predictors of reintegration includes the ex-offender making a personal choice to reintegrate, his age, having a vision and purpose in life, staying committed to change, having spirituality, having basic needs met, family support, access to employment, etc. While some of these factors are personal decisions that the individual has to make, some are structural factors that institutions and voluntary welfare organisations can contribute towards.
- Bruce Mathieu, 51 years old, sentenced to 20+ years in prison on multiple occasions, received 21 strokes of the cane. Bruce speaks about how he ended up the way he did and how he turned himself around
- The Singapore Prison Service reported 2539 drug-related admissions in 2019, a steady increase over the 2018 (2248 cases) and 2017 (1962 cases). Out of the 2,539 cases, 2080 were placed in Drug Rehabilitation Centre while 991 were in long-term imprisonment.
- According to an SPS report in 2020:
The DRC regime consists of the In-care Phase and the Community-Based Programme (CBP) Phase. During the In-care Phase, abusers go through psychology-based correctional programmes, skills training, as well as family support and religious services, in order to prepare them for reintegration into society after their release. These help abusers deal with the psychological and emotional aspects of their drug abuse, as well as equip them with the knowledge and skills to prevent relapse. Aftercare supervision during the CBP Phase provides abusers with supportive measures that facilitate their reintegration into society. - Superintendent of Prisons (SUPT 1A) Loh Hong Wai, Superintendent of the DRC in Institution B5, said, “At the DRC, by understanding the factors that led abusers to use drugs, we are able to tailor our rehabilitation regime accordingly. This helps us to provide structured and evidence-based interventions that are more effective in preventing further drug abuse. Even after their release, we continue to provide support to ease their transition back into the community, giving them a better chance of staying drug-free in the long run.”