Inmates celebrating Chinese New Year in Kajang Prison

KAJANG: "I hope the Year of the goat will give me strength to stop using drugs and instead foster closer rapport with my family and children."
Revealing this to theSun, Lily who is serving her six months imprisonment at Kajang Prison after being convicted for possession of cocaine regrets her deed and hoped to turn into a new leaf for the sake of her children.
Lily, who hails from Johor Baru, lamented that she constantly missed her two girls age 13 and six years old respectively.
The eldest daughter stays with her grandparents in Johor Baru while the youngest with her in-laws also in the same city.
Her ex-husband, Robert, meanwhile, is also currently serving his jail term for possession of drugs at the Johor Baru prison.
Lily was introduced to cocaine and other recreational drugs by Robert whom she met in 2003 at the pub she owned.
"When we were into a relationship then, he used to borrow money saying he was in heavy debts. It was in June the same year that the police raided his house in Johor Baru," said the 36-year-old mother.
Lily who was caught together with him then and convicted for three years felt she did not deserve the punishment meted out to her as she was in the dark over Robert using his house as the hideout for most of the drugs.
"I was coaxed into trying out various drugs as he was a drug trafficker. He also forced me to sell drugs at my pub to offset the money he owed him," she confessed.
With a lucrative monthly income of RM10,000 to RM20,000 a month, she agreed to sell the drugs as she also needed money to finance her younger brother's higher education as both her parents died in an accident when she was 18 years old.
As the fifth child of six siblings, she was also the breadwinner of the family.
"My family was shocked when they learned of drug activities and consumption," she said, adding they suspected something amiss with me losing weight tremendously although she never took drugs in front of her children.
After her release in 2005, she applied for a divorce from Robert in order to flee from the horrendous situation which she had faced earlier.
However, her past caught up again with her when she experienced a relapse which resulted in her incarceration again.
She had pleaded guilty which resulted in a lighter sentence of six months and 20 days.
"My brother had even offered to pay for the RM8,000 bail but I declined, telling him that I deserved this as part of my repentance.
"I am happy with the rehabilitation I am going through at the prison and hoped to come out clean. Furthermore, I enjoy doing the chores and activities with other inmates which is turning me into a new person," she added.
Lily is lucky that she was released just before Chinese New Year so that she can celebrate the festival with her family.
"I am so happy to be back with the family and I will never commit the same mistake," she vowed saying she plan to put her past behind and work with her younger brother who has a vegetable farm in Pahang.
Lily also plans to keep away from her friends who are a bad influence and may coaxed her back to drugs.
"I plan to lead a quiet life, just doing vegetable farming," she added.
Another inmate, Alex who is serving a 50 year term under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (Bafia) and 10 years with a fine of RM1.6 million under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla) also regrets his doings.
A first time convict, the 44-year-old father of two boys also hopes that both his sentence and penalty can be reduced as he had filed an appeal.
Decked in a red uniform with spectacles and a cheerful smile, he suddenly broke down when recalling the last time when he met the children with his wife.
"I feel sad because while the eldest child knows the reason I'm here, the youngest doesn't. He told me 'suruh balik raya' but I would reply that my 'work' isn't done yet, that I'm also undergoing training here," he lamented.
His wife went through depression initially managed to regain composure, especially realising the children needed her.
"I told her that I pray for them, that everything's okay and that everyone here are just like family.
"I cried at first, because everything happened so fast. But, I told them that I can survive. I have to show them that I'm strong," he said.
Despite this, Alex, a devout Buddhist, said that he has found the daily routine calming as he is able to focus on his spiritual side as opposed to his previous life which was busy.
Alex who goes therapy session with other inmates has learned a lot about the value of life, being spiritual and also to live within one's means and not be greedy.
"I have learned to be disciplined, gained mental strength to succeed in life with skills and talents god has bestowed. The prison is a good ground for learning and gaining skills," he added.
Having passed through various phases in prison, Alex has attained the status of a chief who oversees among others the overall job function of other inmates including house-keeping and duties in the kitchen.
Alex now helps new inmates get adjusted to their "new" home as its not bad as one things as prison is a college where one learns new things and new skills to move on with life ones out from the cell.