The Taiping Prison formerly known as Larut Prison and Taiping Training Centre was established in 1879 and is the first and oldest modern prison complex in Malaysia. It was also the largest prison complex at the time.
Taiping Prison was built by prisoners of war or convicts brought in from India and Africa. The building materials were imported from England through the British East India Company. For a time it was also Malaysia’s most modern prison. It was also the largest prison complex at the time.
The complex consisted of 3 meter high wooden gates and 5 interconnected half-stone buildings. Each building could house only 50 prisoners.
In 1881 Sikh warders were brought in to assist Malay warders and vocational trainers were brought in from Hong Kong to introduce useful industry in the prison.
In 1882 there was an exercise to place prison inmates into categories. In 1889 a European warder was appointed. With the establishment of the Federated Malay States, Taiping Prison became the detention centre for prisoners with long sentences from Perak, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor.
In 1923 the system of “Visiting Justices” was introduced. Prison industry had been developed and included printing works, cloth production, sewing and rattan and ironworking. In 1924 stoneworking was halted and replaced with coconut dehusking. In World War II, during the Japanese occupation (1941-1945), Taiping Prison was used as a public prison and also a Japanese prisoner-of-war detention centre. It was during this period that all records about the prison and its inmates were destroyed.
The prison still operates to this day as Penjara Taiping.
For more info :-
Address : Jalan Taming Sari, Taman Tasik Taiping, 34000 Taiping, Perak.
Tel : 05-807 2177
