Prison suffers from shortage of hands

Lee Kam Cheong (2nd left) showing guests clothes made by inmates

Macau Prison (EPM) director Lee Kam Cheong claimed that they have always faced a shortage of hands. It plans to hire more than 70 people to fill the various vacancies. He also called on the public to support inmates’ reintegration into society.
Lee Kam Cheong spoke to the media on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of this year’s Inmates’ Handicraft Exhibition that took place in the Macau Forum last Friday. He said that the prison has always been short of manpower.
“Currently, we have 29 colleagues who are receiving training at the Police Academy. There are also more than 70 vacancies that we are preparing to hire people to fill,” Mr Lee said.
14 nurses have recently joined the prison to handle the workload. Nevertheless, with only three doctors working there, Lee Kam Cheong claimed that manpower in that department is still tight.
Given the increasing number of non-resident inmates, Lee Kam Cheong said that EPM does need more interpreters. The major issue they face is communication.
“However, it is impossible for the prison to hire interpreters. If my memory serves me well, we have inmates from more than 30 countries. It is impossible to hire interpreters for all nations. Therefore, we are looking for non-government organizations and consulates to assist us with this issue,” said the director.
Furthermore, he revealed that the prison’s occupancy has reached 80 percent.
Lee Kam Cheong remarked that a prison is not only about holding cells. There are other facilities that EPM has to provide for inmates.
“For example, we have preventative medical observation that requires [inmates] to be separated, as well as other isolation and investigation measures that need to separate people [from each other]… Some female inmates have babies to take care of and we have special cells for them. Hence, it is not only about filling the cells.”
As for the new prison project, Lee Kam Cheong said that they have just finished testing the bulletproof material used in the first stage of the construction. A third party project management firm is preparing for the inspection of the completed construction. “We hope that the first stage of the project can finish as soon as possible.”
EPM is still negotiating with the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSPOT) regarding the evaluation system for the second stage of the construction, as well as other technical issues. The Director wants to launch the public tendering process within this year.
According to the DSSPOT website, the construction of the new prison started in August 2010 and the first stage was expected to finish at the end of 2012. However, it is now uncertain when the project will be completed.
Regarding the reintegration of ex-inmates, the EMP director urges people to accept inmates back into society. “We want the public to support and accept inmates to reintegrate into society. If people do not support them or welcome them home, they would just come back to me (the prison).”
Lee Kam Cheong reckoned that Macau still has room to improve in terms of inmates’ reintegration. However, he claimed that progress has already been made in recent years.
“We are not saying that residents in Macau are too cold. There is already some noticeable advance. However, we still need to further strengthen our work and continue to promote it so that residents can accept ex-inmates,” Mr Lee concluded.