TAPAH: A transit home will be fully operational in Taiping next month (September) to help former prisoners learn a variety of useful knowledge after being released from behind ‘the iron curtain.”
Perak State Prison director Charin Promwichit Chem said this facility, managed by the Larut Matang and Selama District Parole Office, is expected to house 50 inmates at any given time.
“Usually, former inmates placed in this transit home are those who do not (family) or have not been accepted by their family to return home,” he said in a press conference after attending Ihsan MADANI Prisoners’ Release Programme, in conjunction with the 67th National Day celebration, at the Tapah Prison here today.
“At the transit home, the former inmates will be exposed to various programmes involving matters of education, religion, community service, and so on to make it easier for them to adapt to the surrounding conditions.”
Halfway houses are premises for temporary living or learning classes for former prisoners provided by the Malaysian Prisons Department in collaboration with non-governmental organisations (NGO) to house detainees on parole (ODPs) and ex-prisoners (residents) who have just been released.
Through this facility, the ex-inmates are also exposed to various beneficial and scientific activities in a period of three consecutive months after serving their prison sentences.
Meanwhile, Charin said the existence of more halfway houses is believed to be able to contribute to a reduction in the number of recidivists, that is criminals who are repeat offenders.
“Statistics also show that the recidivism rate is only 0.24 per cent compared to 17 per cent recorded for ex-inmates who do not follow it (being in halfway houses),“ he said.
In a related development, he said 411 ex-inmates who were in prisons throughout the state had been released during January to August this year.
He added that those who were released involved those who committed offences including cases of violation of conditions involving the commission of a crime.
