Changi Prison's entrance gate, wall, turrets gazetted as national monument

SINGAPORE - The entrance gate, wall and turrets of Changi Prison have been collectively gazetted as Singapore's 72nd national monument, the National Heritage Board (NHB) announced on Monday (Feb 15).

The latest monument was gazetted in remembrance of Singapore's wartime experience during the Japanese occupation.

Changi Prison was designed by the Public Works Department and completed in 1936.

The maximum security prison became operational in 1937, and its features included turrets that served as watchtowers and a high surrounding wall to deter escapes.

During World War II, Changi Prison and its surrounding barracks formed the principal prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Southeast Asia.

NHB said: "This chapter in the prison's history remains one of its most poignant and is also an important part of Singapore's World War II history."

Ms Jean Wee, Director of the Preservation of Sites and Monuments division, NHB, added: "Changi Prison stands today as an enduring symbol of the suffering of those who defended Singapore during the tumultuous war years between 1942 and 1945.

"We hope that this monument will serve as an important reminder to all Singaporeans of the tremendous sacrifice by POWs and to treasure the peace and harmony we have today, and continue to safeguard it with resilience and courage," she said.

Other World-War II-related monuments include the former City Hall, the former Cathay Building, the former Ford Factory, the former Command House, the Esplanade Park Memorials and the Civilian War Memorial.

The last national monument to be gazetted was The Fullerton Hotel, in Dec 7, 2015.

10 things to know about Changi Prison:

1. Changi Prison was conceived to relieve prison overcrowding - a perennial issue that plagued the older prisons during the colonial years.

2. It was acclaimed as the most modern institution of its kind in the East, boasting a comprehensive alarm system and electrical lights in its cells.

3. During the Japanese Occupation, the prison was converted into the principal internment camp for civilians and POWs in Southeast Asia.

4. More than 2,500 civilians and POWs, including the entire British civil service, were packed into Changi Prison which had been designed to hold only 600 prisoners. By 1944, more than 5,000 prisoners were interned there.

5. Towards the end of the war, POWs had to survive off wildlife as food scarcity prevailed.

6. From 1945 to 1947, Changi Prison was the venue for several military courts and those convicted of war crimes against POWs and civilians were hanged there. The prison returned to civilian control in October 1947.

7. Mr C. V. Devan Nair, Mr Lim Chin Siong, and Mr Fong Swee Suan were arrested and detained in Changi Prison for their involvement in labour strikes during post-war years.

8. Changi Prison consisted of two four-storey blocks of prison cells, which branched out from a central covered corridor, resulting in a plan that resembled a telephone pole of that period. This layout allowed wardens quick access to either of the prison blocks.

9. Designed as a maximum security prison, Changi Prison was originally enclosed within a perimeter wall which was more than 20 feet tall. Each of the turrets located at the four corners of the compound wall served as watchtowers and access to the prison was via a double-leafed steel entrance gate.

10. Before the second phase of construction of the new Changi Prison Complex began in 2004, key features of the former Changi Prison most representative of the facility's history were identified for preservation, namely the entrance gate, a 180-metre stretch of the prison wall and two corner turrets.

Here is the full list of Singapore's national monuments.

debwong@sph.com.sg