Pudu Prison

Synonyms:

• Pudu Prison
• Pudu Jail

Photos from Kuala Lumpur Old Pictorial Threads at www.skyscrapercity.com

Developmental Milestones of Pudu Prison (Pudu Jail)

• site was dense jungle with tigers roaming
• former site of Chinese burial ground
• construction used convict labour
• 1891-1895 construction of Pudu Jail on Shaw Road (now Jalan Hang Tuah)
• cost $16000 Straits dollars
• medium security
• 394-metre prison wall
• small dark cells with a shoebox-sized window per cell
• opened 1895-1996 & 2003-2008 (operated for total 106 years)
• the first governor of Pudu Prison was Lt. Col. JAB Ellen
• Aug 1895 cholera struck prison via an infected old well from the former burial ground
• the well problem was fixed in 1898 (after 3 years)
• In 1911, Richard Alfred Ernest Clark was one of the European warders of Pudu Prison
• the only prison in Selangor
• initially imprisoned men and women with short sentences
• later imprisoned criminals and drug offenders
• administered rotan caning
• had its own vegetable garden and was self sufficient
• During World War II (1941-1945), the Japanese occupation forces incarcerated many Allied POWs at Pudu Prison
• 11 June 1981 execution of Botak Chin
• In 1984, an inmate named Khong Yen Chong used approx. 2,000 litres of paint to create a mural of tropical scenes. It measured approx. 860 feet by 14 feet and was mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest mural in the world. Khong was unable to complete the mural as an inmate. He returned later as a free man and volunteered his time to complete his masterpiece.
• 1986 execution of 2 young Australians - Kevin Barlow and Brian Geoffrey Chambers
• 1986 Pudu Prison seige
• closed 1996 (Malaysian Prison Dept 1895-1996; 101 years) 
• Inmates relocated to Sg Buloh and Kajang prisons
• 1997 used as a museum
• 1998 Pudu Prison exhibition
• closed 2008 (Royal Malaysian Police 2003-2008; 5 years)
• 2009 used as a day holding facility for prisoners attending court hearings
• June 2009 government decided to demolish Pudu Prison
• June 2010 east wall demolished
• Dec 2012 the entire prison was demolished, leaving the main gate and a portion of the exterior wall
• former prison site can be viewed from the monorail between Imbi and Hang Tuan stations
• 2014 redevelopment by UDA Malaysia at US$1billion, for an integrated commercial and transportation hub

External links:
Pudu Jail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudu_Prison
http://www.corpun.com/myjur4.htm
http://www.corpun.com/singfeat.htm