SINGAPORE: Former transport minister S Iswaran, who is serving a 12-month jail term, was placed on home detention from Friday (Feb 7).
The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) announced this on Friday in response to CNA queries.
“Like all inmates emplaced on the Home Detention Scheme, S Iswaran will serve his remaining sentence at his residence under specified conditions, which include curfew monitoring using an electronic monitoring tag, being gainfully occupied either in work, study or training, and reporting to SPS for counselling,” said SPS.
Iswaran began his 12-month jail term on Oct 7, 2024.
Lawyers confirmed with CNA that in their experience, offenders become eligible for home detention after serving around one-third of their sentence.
“During home detention, inmates who have approved employment can leave the home during their working hours while inmates who are unemployed usually only have a few hours out of the home in the afternoons,” said Mr Adrian Wee of Lighthouse Law LLC.
The Prisons Act provides for home detention to facilitate inmates’ rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Prisoners can be placed on home detention for a period of not more than one year.
They will serve out their sentences at home under certain conditions like curfew monitoring, urine testing and counselling. They can work, study or be involved in community service during this time, with electronic tagging.
To be eligible, they must have served at least 14 days of a jail term lasting at least four weeks. These terms can be varied through a notification in the Government Gazette made by the Minister for Home Affairs.
Eligible prisoners must also meet other conditions, such as not having committed certain offences or not being liable to be removed from Singapore after their release. Inmates serving a life sentence are not eligible.
Separate from home detention, most inmates who display good behaviour in prison are released after serving two-thirds of their sentence.
For Iswaran, that would mean being released on a remission order after serving a sentence of eight months.
