Reconnecting Inmates With Their Families

Non-profit helps parents in prison bond with their kids

- Syarafana Shafeeq

Ten men sat in a circle inside a room in Changi Prison Complex. Their hardened exteriors belied the nervous looks in their eyes. All of them were waiting for their children to pass through the many security gates of the prison, to finally walk through the doors of the room, in December 2024.

One man looked especially anxious – his son was one of the youngest among the children visiting. He was afraid his son would not recognise him.

“I want him to remember me,” he said, speaking to fellow inmates at the session.

Another inmate, Faliq, was also awaiting his son. The 31-year-old, who gave only his first name, was sentenced to six years in prison for drug charges in 2020.

His son was four when he was incarcerated. The pair video-call twice a month as part of the prison’s tele-visits.

“I miss the freedom of getting to see or talk to my son when I want to. I want to be the one making those decisions, instead of the prison deciding when I am allowed to do that,” Faliq said, speaking to The Straits Times in Changi Prison Complex.

As part of a programme by non-profit organisation New Life Stories (NLS), these men – and women – get the opportunity to meet and hug their children without barriers in a biannual open visit.

Unlike usual prison visits, inmates and their visitors are not separated by a glass panel during open visits.

Without the programme by NLS, Faliq said he can earn an open visit only if he accumulates around 360 points. Inmates are awarded 20 points per month if they take part in rehabilitation programmes and do not commit offences. They may be awarded an additional 20 to 120 points for good behaviour.

“How many months would it take for me to even reach that? This opportunity means a lot to me,” Faliq said.