Southside secret: Stanley Prison and Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum

Triad members, white-collar fraudsters and top-level politicians have all done time in Stanley Prison which is still a functioning goal with more than 1,000 inmates. 

Established in 1937, the prison has an intriguing and somewhat gruesome history.

During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the prison and St Stephen’s College were used as a prisoner-of-war camp (1942-1945), housing 2,800 mostly British men, women and children appalling conditions.

Food was scarce and there were few medical facilities, although there were many doctors and nurses among the internees, which probably prevented any epidemics. 

“The prison grounds, the cemetery and St Stephen’s College were the site of the civilian internment camps, whereas the prison itself was used by the Japanese to intern those they wanted to interrogate,” says historian Tony Banham, who has written several books about wartime Hong Kong. 

While it’s not possible to visit the prison itself – guards at the gate turn away curious tourists – the Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum located next door offers a fascinating insight into its history. 

There are displays that demonstrate the conditions experienced by former inmates and plenty of grisly details about Hong Kong’s pineal system.

The museum has ten galleries displaying about 600 artefacts on two floors, including rudimentary weapons made by inmates and smuggled contraband.

There are replicas of gallows and two cells from colonial-era Hong Kong. Instruments used for flogging and other forms of corporal punishment send shivers down the spine. 

Gallery Six is particularly interesting. It details the plight of the Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong. Through photographs, video and witness testaments, it traces the history or the refugee crisis, the internment camps, riots and forced repatriations.

How to get there: Take bus 6, 6X or 260 and alight at St Stephen’s College then walk along Tung Tau Wan Road for about 100m.