Chí Hòa Prison ( or ') is a functioning Vietnamese prison located in
Ho Chi Minh City
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
. The prison is an
octagonal building
Octagonal buildings and structures are characterized by an octagonal plan form, whether a perfect geometric octagon or a regular eight-sided polygon with approximately equal sides.
Octagon-shaped buildings date from at least 300 B.C. when the T ...
on a 7-hectare site
[Vài nét về khám Chí Hòa - Giới thiệu]
, Government of Ho Chi Minh city, Accessed 10/12/2010 consisting of detention rooms, jail cells, prison walls, watchtowers, facilities and prisoner's farmlands. The prison is one of 12 national prisons in Vietnam.
[Mitchel P. Roth, ''Prisons and prison systems: a global encyclopedia'', page 288
Publisher: Westport, Conn.; Greenwood Press, 2006. ] Originally built by the French Indochina colonial government in 1943 (or 1939) to replace the
Saigon Grand Prison
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
, the prison was extensively used by all succeeding governments of Vietnam. Due to its complex and effective architecture, the prison is considered one of the highest security prisons in Vietnam as there were only two successful
prison breaks in its history.
[“Lò bát quái” Chí Hòa - Những chuyện sau cửa ngục]
''Công An Nhân Dân'' newspaper, 24/06/2009. Accessed 10/12/2010
History
In 1930s, the 1890 French-built
Saigon Grand Prison
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
(') became overcrowded because of the increasing number of prisoners at that time.
This situation prompted the French Indochina government to build a new and larger prison to replace the Saigon Grand Prison. In 1939 (or 1943, depending on various sources), the government began the construction of Chi Hoa prison by hiring French contractors and using the design of local Vietnamese architects. In 1945, the construction was interrupted by the
Empire of Japan overthrowing of the French. After the return of the French in 1950, the construction was resumed and the building process was completely finished in 1953.
After the completion of Chí Hòa prison, Emperor
Bảo Đại
Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...
decided to permanently shut down the Saigon Grand Prison and transferred all prisoners to the new prison. From this point on, the government of the State of Vietnam (later Republic of Vietnam) used the prison extensively.
After the
fall of Saigon in 1975, the new government of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
has continued to use this prison until the present day. In 2010, the Ho Chi Minh city government announced a plan to demolish the prison and build a new corporative housing over the prison's land.
Architecture
The prison's main structure is a three-floor
octagonal building
Octagonal buildings and structures are characterized by an octagonal plan form, whether a perfect geometric octagon or a regular eight-sided polygon with approximately equal sides.
Octagon-shaped buildings date from at least 300 B.C. when the T ...
, heavily influenced by the
I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zh ...
's eight trigrams theory. The whole building is actually formed by seven tile-roofed building lines and one flat-roofed north-facing building line which are named in turn following these names of
I Ching's eight trigrams. The exterior side and the interior side were built differently. The exterior side is closed by air-holed brick walls and the interior side is opened by a roofless green space from which the prisoners are separated by iron pales. Later, eight building lines are divided as ''areas'' which named alphabetically as A area, B area, C area, D area, E area, F area, G area, and H area.
These areas are combined into 6 ''zones'' which are named as AB zone, BC zone, ED zone, FG zone, AH zone, and ID zone. The zones contain 238 cells:
* The AB zone: 52 cells
* The ID zone: 17 cells
* The security zone (
solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use addit ...
zone): 3 cells
* The D zone: 65 narrow cells
* The remaining zones: 101 cells.
In the center of the prison there is a tall and large water tower that doubles as the main watchtower, allowing the prison guards a clear view of all the prison cells.
Apart from prison cells, the main building also has the facilities for prisoners, prison managers and guards.
Later, a
Christian chapel
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...
and a
Buddhist temple was built in the land surrounding the main building but they are all destroyed now. There also are small farmland lots and facilities such as a restaurant and toilets for prisoners in this land. The outermost part of the prison is separated from the populous residential areas by a squared brick wall plus barbed-wire fence. There are four watchtowers in the four corners of the walls.
Prison operation
The prison has been infamous for its harsh and squalid conditions for a very long time, regardless of its operators. In the time of the French colonial government, the prisoners were confined in the light-lacking cells and were usually fettered.
In the time of South Vietnam, the prison usually held from 6,000 to 8,000 prisoners or even 10,000 prisoners.
These prisoners were divided into two groups by their convicted crimes: the first group were prisoners who were convicted of politically related crimes and the second group were prisoners who were convicted of other crimes. The males and females were confined in different cells and the prisoners could only leave their cells briefly to satisfy their needs for food and hygiene. There was always one battalion of police guarding the prison.
In spite of being only a prison, two executions were carried out in Chí Hòa prison: the execution of
Ngô Đình Cẩn
Ngô Đình Cẩn (; 1911 – 9 May 1964) was a younger brother and confidant of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm, and an important member of the Diệm government. Diệm put Cẩn in charge of central Vietnam, stretching fro ...
and the execution of
Nguyễn Văn Trỗi
Nguyễn Văn Trỗi (1 February 1940Staff report (16 October 1964)''Time'' (only available online for subscribers). The article describes Trỗi as aged 17 at the time of his execution, although other sources cite 1940 as his year of birth, mak ...
.
[Vụ xử bắn thứ nhất tại Chí Hòa]
, ''Công An Nhân Dân'' newspaper. Accessed 10/12/2010
After the fall of Saigon, the prison was kept running by the new Socialist Republic of Vietnam government but there is only little information in regards to the way it was being operated. There is some brief information in ''
The Black Book of Communism
''The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression'' is a 1997 book by Stéphane Courtois, Andrzej Paczkowski, Nicolas Werth, Jean-Louis Margolin, and several other European academics documenting a history of political repression by c ...
'' which describes the conditions of the prison as extremely bad.
The prison is also infamous for its high security. It is considered to be a prison from which the prisoners can never break out of. However, there have been two successful prison breaks in the past: the first one occurred in 1945 when the
Viet Minh
The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fr ...
took the advantage of
the defeat of Japan in World War II to attack and free its members who were jailed in an incomplete and ill-guarded Chi Hoa prison. And the second one was the prison break of the infamous Vietnamese robber Phuoc Tam Ngon (Phuoc the eight-finger) in 1995 when he managed to break his fetters and evade the security forces in a prison break which Vietnamese police described as "''an unbelievable prison break''".
[
]
Notable prisoners
Pre-1975
Because of its security, many politicians and military personnel were jailed in this prison. The following is a partial list of some recorded famous people who have been jailed in Chi Hoa Prison:
* Lam Sơn, ROV general
* Ngô Đình Cẩn
Ngô Đình Cẩn (; 1911 – 9 May 1964) was a younger brother and confidant of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm, and an important member of the Diệm government. Diệm put Cẩn in charge of central Vietnam, stretching fro ...
, politician
* Nguyễn Tường Tam, writer
* Nguyễn Văn Trỗi
Nguyễn Văn Trỗi (1 February 1940Staff report (16 October 1964)''Time'' (only available online for subscribers). The article describes Trỗi as aged 17 at the time of his execution, although other sources cite 1940 as his year of birth, mak ...
, NLF member
* Phan Khắc Sửu, politician
* Trần Ngọc Châu
Tran Ngoc Châu (1 January 1924 – 17 June 2020) was a Vietnamese soldier (Lieutenant Colonel), civil administrator (city mayor, province chief), politician (leader of the Lower House of the National Assembly), and later political prisoner, in ...
, politician
* Trương Đình Dzũ
Trương, or Truong without diacritics, is a Vietnamese surname formerly written as in the Han script. It is derived from the Chinese surname Zhang (), one of the most common surnames in China and Taiwan. According to the 2010 United States Cen ...
, politician
* Võ Thị Sáu, Martyrdom
* Vũ Hồng Khanh, politician
* Vũ Vũ Gia
Vũ or Võ ( 武 or rarely 禹) is a common Vietnamese surname. Vũ is primarily used by Vietnamese who live in the north, while Võ mostly is used by Vietnamese who live in the south (from Quảng Bình Province to the south). The latinized v ...
, ROV general
Post-1975
After the end of Vietnam War, the new government kept operating the prison. Many famous people have been jailed here. Here is an incomplete list of these people
* Phuoc Tam Ngon
Phước ( vi, Phước) is a common gender-neutral name originating from Vietnam. It means "blessing" or "lucky". Notable people with this name include:
Given name
*Lưu Hữu Phước (1921-89), Vietnamese composer
*Lê Văn Phước (b. 1929), ...
, famous Vietnamese robber
* Phan Huy Quát
Phan Huy Quát (Hà Tĩnh Province, 12 June 1908 – 27 April 1979) was a South Vietnamese doctor and politician who served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam for four months in 1965.
Early life
Phan Huy Quát was born in Lộc Hà Dis ...
, ROV politician[Nghia M. Vo, ''The bamboo gulag: political imprisonment in communist Vietnam'', page 170, McFarland, 2004
]
See also
*Côn Đảo Prison
Côn Đảo Prison ( vi, Nhà tù Côn Đảo), also Côn Sơn Prison, is a prison on Côn Sơn Island (also known as Côn Lôn) the largest island of the Côn Đảo archipelago in southern Vietnam (today it is in Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu provin ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chi Hoa Prison
Prisoner-of-war camps
Vietnam War sites
Vietnam War prisoner of war camps
Torture in Vietnam
Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City
Prisons in Vietnam