Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Jailhouse rock - Elvis Presley
Been thinking a lot about prisons since i've been here!
Probably UK's most famous prison - the Tower of London!!!
Dun get wrong - i've not done anything criminal! But i have been watching Prison Break and reading books like "The Chamber" and "A Prison Diary". In the former book, John Grisham as usual does extensive research and i got a glimpse on life in death row.
In the latter book, it is a wonderful account by Archer of his own experience. Man, he is one good story-teller. And he can be pretty hillarious too! As he discover how life is behind bars, he takes his reader along wif him, to be wif him and feel how it is to be in prison! I learnt that the prisoners dun have a "prison garb". They also get to enjoy things like pringles and spam - they are given a shopping list each week and they can order their stuffs - limited by the money they have.
It was also ironically amusing to read about Archer in prison reading a Grisham book!!!! One of my fav authors reading the works of my other fav authors! And Archer was truly impressed wif Grisham!
Further, in my studies, i have to read about people in prisons too!
Based on these accounts (and my personal experiences as a lawyer - see below), it is kinda hard for me to watch movies and shows like Prison Break. Now, that is truly a work of fiction! Imagine, a guy who is on death row but allowed to be out with other prisoners refurbishing a guard house - just days before his execution!!!!! There are many other factual goofs and errors which are just not possible at all. Still i watch it thanks to the interesting bunch of characters in the series - and a cute prison doctor! ;-)
Back home in M'sia, i've had the chance to actually go inside all the major prisons - although it was only into the visiting area. In a way, i was "privilleged" to set foot into Pudu Prison before it was closed down - yeah, when it was still functioning as a prison.
Thereafter, when the prisoners were transfered to the new facilities in Sg Buloh, i had to go there a couple of times too. The prisoners whom i met there were truly glad that they were no longer in Pudu. I used to hear horror stories of Pudu - no, no, not the supernatural kind. But the conditions in Pudu was unbearable - I was told. So even tho Sg Buloh was kinda hot without any trees, it was much cleaner and conditions were more humane.
Oh, i even saw Anwar Ibrahim conferring wif his lawyer once as i was waiting to confer wif my client.
Security was tight as expected. Sg Buloh din have the usual barbed wires on top of the walls. Instead, if you look at the walls from the side view, the top part is shaped into a circle. So no way anyone could hook a rope onto the walls to climb out.
I've also been to the Kajang prison - had a horrible experience there, tho. The client was pretty smug and full of himself. The place there was nice, tho. Lots of greenery, bushes, trees etc.
Then, there was the detention centre at Muar. I truly enjoyed those trips down there - and even became good pals wif some of our clients there! It was a detention centre - not a prison. My clients there were basically detained without a charge and without having been brought to Court! Yeah, these kinda laws still exist in M'sia.
Sometimes, when "business" is done, i stay on longer to chat wif them. Some of them love to do that. And being a detention centre, the guards aren't too strict. And these fellas are really nice. In a different life, we could have been good mates!
And life in Muar detention centre din sound too bad too. The classic case was when i visited this guy and was getting him to affirm an affidavit to support his case. To my surprise, he specifically instructed me that he wanted the hearing to take place after Chinese New Year!!!! I had to ask him him again to be sure i heard correctly. He said that in there, the celebrations would be "yeet lau tit"!!!! They have a party and relatives are allowed to bring them goodies - and all his mates are there!!!!
I can only imagine how empty his life on the outside must be.
Then there's another guy who was detained before his wife gave birth - and he always talk to me about his baby girl, how she was growing up and he was missing it all.
Ah, thinking bout all this brings back lots of memories! The excellent otak-otak from Muar, the frenly Commisioner for Oaths that i had to bring along with me, the gansterish looking guy in gold chains who came to out office to pay the fees of a detainee (and frightened everyone in me office - he took out a cheque book, passed it to me and told me to write it out for him. After i did that, he looked at it, laughed at the amount and signed it), the cool and soft-spoken Big Boss, the fouled-mouth mar-chais, the petrol allowance i get to claim each time i go there, etc! :-)
I've been thinking a lot bout these fellas lately too cuz i'm thinking of doing my dissertation about them. People here are horrified when i tell them that in M'sia, someone can be arrested and detained for a period of 2 years without a charge and without being brought to court to be tried!!!! And that the period of detention is usually extended a couple of times and this meant some of them are detained for up to 6 to 8 years without being formally charged or brought to court!!!!
We'll see. Exams first!
Probably UK's most famous prison - the Tower of London!!!
Dun get wrong - i've not done anything criminal! But i have been watching Prison Break and reading books like "The Chamber" and "A Prison Diary". In the former book, John Grisham as usual does extensive research and i got a glimpse on life in death row.
In the latter book, it is a wonderful account by Archer of his own experience. Man, he is one good story-teller. And he can be pretty hillarious too! As he discover how life is behind bars, he takes his reader along wif him, to be wif him and feel how it is to be in prison! I learnt that the prisoners dun have a "prison garb". They also get to enjoy things like pringles and spam - they are given a shopping list each week and they can order their stuffs - limited by the money they have.
It was also ironically amusing to read about Archer in prison reading a Grisham book!!!! One of my fav authors reading the works of my other fav authors! And Archer was truly impressed wif Grisham!
Further, in my studies, i have to read about people in prisons too!
Based on these accounts (and my personal experiences as a lawyer - see below), it is kinda hard for me to watch movies and shows like Prison Break. Now, that is truly a work of fiction! Imagine, a guy who is on death row but allowed to be out with other prisoners refurbishing a guard house - just days before his execution!!!!! There are many other factual goofs and errors which are just not possible at all. Still i watch it thanks to the interesting bunch of characters in the series - and a cute prison doctor! ;-)
Back home in M'sia, i've had the chance to actually go inside all the major prisons - although it was only into the visiting area. In a way, i was "privilleged" to set foot into Pudu Prison before it was closed down - yeah, when it was still functioning as a prison.
Thereafter, when the prisoners were transfered to the new facilities in Sg Buloh, i had to go there a couple of times too. The prisoners whom i met there were truly glad that they were no longer in Pudu. I used to hear horror stories of Pudu - no, no, not the supernatural kind. But the conditions in Pudu was unbearable - I was told. So even tho Sg Buloh was kinda hot without any trees, it was much cleaner and conditions were more humane.
Oh, i even saw Anwar Ibrahim conferring wif his lawyer once as i was waiting to confer wif my client.
Security was tight as expected. Sg Buloh din have the usual barbed wires on top of the walls. Instead, if you look at the walls from the side view, the top part is shaped into a circle. So no way anyone could hook a rope onto the walls to climb out.
I've also been to the Kajang prison - had a horrible experience there, tho. The client was pretty smug and full of himself. The place there was nice, tho. Lots of greenery, bushes, trees etc.
Then, there was the detention centre at Muar. I truly enjoyed those trips down there - and even became good pals wif some of our clients there! It was a detention centre - not a prison. My clients there were basically detained without a charge and without having been brought to Court! Yeah, these kinda laws still exist in M'sia.
Sometimes, when "business" is done, i stay on longer to chat wif them. Some of them love to do that. And being a detention centre, the guards aren't too strict. And these fellas are really nice. In a different life, we could have been good mates!
And life in Muar detention centre din sound too bad too. The classic case was when i visited this guy and was getting him to affirm an affidavit to support his case. To my surprise, he specifically instructed me that he wanted the hearing to take place after Chinese New Year!!!! I had to ask him him again to be sure i heard correctly. He said that in there, the celebrations would be "yeet lau tit"!!!! They have a party and relatives are allowed to bring them goodies - and all his mates are there!!!!
I can only imagine how empty his life on the outside must be.
Then there's another guy who was detained before his wife gave birth - and he always talk to me about his baby girl, how she was growing up and he was missing it all.
Ah, thinking bout all this brings back lots of memories! The excellent otak-otak from Muar, the frenly Commisioner for Oaths that i had to bring along with me, the gansterish looking guy in gold chains who came to out office to pay the fees of a detainee (and frightened everyone in me office - he took out a cheque book, passed it to me and told me to write it out for him. After i did that, he looked at it, laughed at the amount and signed it), the cool and soft-spoken Big Boss, the fouled-mouth mar-chais, the petrol allowance i get to claim each time i go there, etc! :-)
I've been thinking a lot bout these fellas lately too cuz i'm thinking of doing my dissertation about them. People here are horrified when i tell them that in M'sia, someone can be arrested and detained for a period of 2 years without a charge and without being brought to court to be tried!!!! And that the period of detention is usually extended a couple of times and this meant some of them are detained for up to 6 to 8 years without being formally charged or brought to court!!!!
We'll see. Exams first!
# posted by imissw : 8:42:00 pm
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watever... all i know is that i'll be falling sick everyday if i was in that prison! Just to see Sarah Wayne Callies!
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