Eligible inmates given opportunity to meet families during CNY
Posted on January 27, 2012, Friday
SANDAKAN: The daily life of a young father dramatically changed after he was convicted for abetting a robbery 10 months ago.
Ah Meng (not his real name), 31, was imprisoned for six years and to be whipped twice for the offence.
Determined to become a better person, he has shown good attitude during his ten months in prison.
Ah Meng looked happy and calm while enjoying the food with his wife and parent during a ‘Jalinan Mesra’ ceremony held in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration, yesterday.
Despite being in prison, he felt grateful that his wife and family often visited and gave him encouraging words.
“Being an inmate has changed how I value my life and I appreciate every opportunity to meet my beloved family. I feel thankful to have a very supportive family,” said the father of an eight-year-old boy.
According to Sandakan prison commissioner Faridon Mad Saad, the program was only for eligible inmates who met such criteria as possessing good character and who showed a positive involvement in rehabilitation activities.
“This opportunity is open only to inmates who have passed their orientation and personality strengthening phase with high marks.
“Eligible inmates have also to show their positive change in attitude that can be emulated by other inmates,” he said.
He said the programme gave the inmates the opportunity to show good behaviour which could build a closer relationship between inmates and families while increasing their confidence of being accepted by the community after serving their sentence, he said, hoping that inmates would maintain their positive attitude after their release from prison.
In conjunction with the ceremony, Ah Meng and five other inmates were chosen for the programme and were also given the opportunity to toss the ‘Yee Sang’.
Besides spending an hour eating with their families, inmates also took the opportunity to hand over their handmade Chinese New Year cards to their beloved families.
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