More than 200 in the prisons infected with COVID-19, including staff and death row inmates

Singapore — The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) announced on Thursday (Nov 11) that more than 200 people in the prisons were infected with Covid-19.

It added that the number included people across all prison facilities, including death row inmates and staff members. The SPS also added that those infected were in different stages of recovery, with three in the hospital as they are symptomatic.

SPS said that, as of Wednesday, the count comprised 169 inmates, 54 supervisees and nine staff members. Supervisees are inmates who are at the tail-end of their sentences working in the community in jobs such as those in the logistics, cleaning, and food and beverage sectors.

The execution of a Malaysian drug trafficker was stayed on Tuesday (Nov 9) by the Court of Appeal, after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, who has been on death row for 11 years, was ushered in briefly into the dock for a last-bid attempt against his death sentence. However, he was later taken away, and a judge informed the court that Nagaenthran had tested positive for COVID-19.

The SPS statement added that out of the 169 inmates, 116 are from Institution A1 at Changi Prison Complex, including prisoners on death row. They tested positive for COVID-19 from Nov 6 to Nov 10.

Because of the Covid-19 situation, face-to-face visits with prisoners on death row have been temporarily suspended and replaced with phone calls to minimise movements in the prison and lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

While face-to-face visits have been suspended for regular prisoners since Oct 4, death row inmates had been given an exception due to their “unique circumstances”. SPS said that face-to-face visits will be reinstated when the situation has stabilised.

It added that as of Nov 7, 99.5 per cent of SPS staff and 90 per cent of the eligible inmate population are fully vaccinated. /TISG