Getting a rare hug and kiss from their mums in jail
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She hugged her two sons aged five and nine tightly, holding on to them as if nothing would make her let them go.
It was a moment Hamizah (not her real name), 26, had been looking forward to for months. She is serving a six-year jail sentence for drug-related offences, which will end next September.
She was one of 10 inmates who met their children and family members without barriers for three hours during an open visit to Institution A4, Singapore's only all-women's prison, on Dec 14 .
An open visit is rare, taking place about once every six months.
Inmates are usually allowed two family visits a month: A tele-visit where they can see each other on video call, and a face-to-face one, where the inmates and their families see each other but are separated by a physical barrier.
The recent visit was organised by New Life Stories, a charity that helps incarcerated mothers and their children. The inmates enjoyed a meal with their families, read original stories that they had written and completed personalised jigsaw puzzles in an activity room.
Sharon (not her real name), 55, said of her 14-year-old son: "These are the only times I can get close to him and listen to him."
