SINGAPORE: Here is the man credited with single-handedly turning the island's prisons from grim places of condemnation to symbols of hope — where those who faltered try to rebuild their lives even before they step out of the sombre jailhouse gates.
But Mr Chua Chin Kiat, who stepped down as director of Singapore Prison Services on Wednesday, would have you know that he is the one left transformed.
"Some people say I've changed the prisons service. While that may be true, at the same time, the prison service has also changed me … I didn't come in with the idea that rehabilitation is the way to go," confessed the 54-year-old, as he looked back on his nine-year tenure.
The Singapore Armed Forces and President Scholar joined the prison service in 1998, after four years at the apex of the Criminal Investigation Department. But the transition from cracking the most deviant criminal minds to helping inmates get back on the straight and narrow was no easy task.
The noble mission of reforming and re-integrating inmates into society was born out of less glamorous circumstances: He was merely trying to tackle the "very real" problem of overcrowded prisons exacerbated by a chronic shortage of officers.
"I remember my predecessor actually asking the police's help in slowing down enforcement. That's a non-option," said Mr Chua.
He embarked on a 14-month brainstorming exercise with his staff. Sweeping changes followed, whereby prison officers shed their traditional role. Gone are the custodians watching over the convicts' every move; in their place are officers who steer the lives of the inmates through counselling and educational programmes.
While some might hail this as a romanticised notion of a more humane regime, Mr Chua simply saw it through the eyes of a detached, methodical law enforcer: "Slowing down the revolving door will help to reduce the prison population.
"Barring those on life imprisonment and the death penalty, the law requires (prisoners) to be released. So if you don't do anything to make them better, then it's a certainty that they will come back."
The result? Recidivism rate — or the frequency of ex-offenders being arrested again — has fallen from 44 to 24.9 per cent. The prison population, which swelled to an all-time high of 17,375 in 2003, has gone down to 12,761 last year.
More than these statistics is the success of the Yellow Ribbon Project — one of several re-integration and reformative programmes introduced under Mr Chua's watch. Insisting that the credit should go to various organisations involved, Mr Chua admitted that its success surprised him, turning the sceptic into a convert.
He said: "Over the years, my opinion about it has changed. Now, I'm firmly of the belief that it can be done. People can change." Starting out with a working benchmark that 70 per cent of offenders can be re-integrated into society, he now believes that only about 5 per cent, or "hardened criminals", cannot be reformed.
Due to retire next May, Mr Chua will be seconded, in the meantime, to Aetos Security Management as an executive director. He would miss his old job, but could return as a volunteer.
Mr Chua's legacy has left Mr Ng Joo Hee — the new man on board — feeling like a certain prodigious golfer.
Said Mr Ng, 41: "I feel like Tiger Woods when he first turned professional and he had to live up to the legacy left by Jack Nicklaus. Mr Chua Chin Kiat has totally transformed the prisons service during his watch... But like Tiger, I will play my own game."
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