Condom kits for ex-prisoners

HIV-infected prisoners may be issued with a condom survival kit to prevent them from spreading the disease to others.
Taiping Prison director Narendar Singh said the condoms would be issued only when the prisoners were released.
He said the matter cropped up during an advocacy seminar on HIV and Drug Use at the Prison College in Kajang early this month.
“The matter was hotly debated, and the move will be subject to approval by the relevant authorities,” he told reporters after opening the 48th National Day celebration involving about 1,600 prisoners at the Taiping prison yesterday.
Narendar said issuing condoms to serving prisoners was also proposed but the department was against this as it could be construed as encouraging sex behind prison walls.
Under normal practice, prisoners undergo a blood test and if identified to be HIV-positive are placed in a separate block.
To discourage sex among prisoners, Narendar said, prisoners’ blankets had to be halved from their former size.
“The previous blankets were big enough to hide two persons sleeping together but now their smaller blankets can only accommodate one person.
“This makes the job of our guards much easier,” he said.
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