- Pulau Senang
SG neighbourhood
image
englishname=Pulau Senang
chinesename=安乐岛
poj=
pengim=
pinyin= ānlè dǎo
malayname=Pulau Senang
tamilname=Pulau Senang or Barn Island is a 81.7-
hectare coral island about 13kilometre s off the southern coast ofSingapore . Along withPulau Pawai andPulau Sudong , it is used as a military training area forlive-fire exercise s. Pulau Senang is best known in thehistory of Singapore as a penal settlement experiment that failed after only three years, when ariot against the guards broke out in1963 , killing three officers.Etymology
"Pulau Senang" is Malay for "island of ease".
History
Pulau Senang was a penal experiment where
prison ers were allowed to roam freely on the island. It was thought that detainees could be reformed throughmanual labour .The settlement started on
18 May ,1960 , when 50 detainees arrived with Superintendent Daniel Dutton. Over the next three years, the number of detainees rose to 320, and they transformed the island into an attractive settlement.Believing that through hard work, the detainees could be reformed. Dutton removed arms from the guards. On
12 July 1963 , a group of some 70 to 90 detainees rioted and burned down most of the buildings. They hacked Dutton to death and killed two other officers. 58 people were accused of rioting andmurder ing Dutton and officers Arumugan Veerasingham and Tan Kok Hian.Because of the large number of the accused, a special dock had to be constructed for them. The case went to trial on
18 November and lasted an unprecedented 64 days. On12 March 1964 , the seven-memberjury found 18 of the accused guilty of murder, 18 guilty of rioting with deadly weapons and 11 guilty of rioting. The remaining 11 accused were acquitted. Those found guilty of murder were sentenced to death, while those found guilty of rioting with deadly weapons were sentenced to three years ofimprisonment ; the rest to two years of imprisonment.Most of those involved in the rioting were members of secret societies who were detained without trial and had no hope of leaving the island. As a result of the riots, the penal experiment came to an abrupt end.
Restricted area
Since the early 1980's, the island together with
Pulau Sudong andPulau Pawai , these three islands formed theSingapore Armed Forces southern islandsmilitary training area and live-firing zone. [ [http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news_and_events/nr/1998/oct/08oct98_nr.html Live explosive being tested on civilian structure in the Southern islands live-firing area.] ] As with all other military installations within the country, the entire live-firing zone is strictly off limits to all civilians at all times of the day and night [ [http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news_and_events/nr/2005/jan/06jan05_nr.html Typical MINDEF notice during live-firing ex] ] .
=PanoramicReferences
*Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2004), "Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names", Eastern University Press, ISBN 981-210-364-3
*Tommy Koh "et al." (2006), "", Editions Didier Millet and National Heritage Board, ISBN 981-4155-63-2External links
* [http://coralreef.nus.edu.sg/island/mindef.htm Coral reefs of Singapore - Live-firing islands]
* [http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg//index.php?entry=/marine/20050207-senangdolphins-saboridorey04jan2005.txt "Dolphins spotted off Pulau Senang" at "habitatnews"]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=singapore&ie=UTF8&ll=1.171808,103.734541&spn=0.017248,0.03871&t=k&z=15&om=1 Satellite image of Pulau Senang] -Google Maps
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