Stanley Prison
The Lai Chi Kok Prison for Women opened in April 1932, which alleviated the pressures of the Victoria Prison. After completion of the Hong Kong Prison at Stanley (later called Stanley Prison), Victoria Prison was closed down for a time. Stanley Prison however quickly became overcrowded, and in 1939 Victoria Prison reopened to detain prisoners awaiting trial.
During WWII, Victoria Prison was taken over by the Japanese troops and used to imprison the British army personnel and personnel of disciplinary forces of European descent. Most of the prison facilities were destroyed by canon fire during the war, and major renovations had to be done after the war. In June 1946, Victoria Prison was renamed Victoria Remand Prison. In 1966, it was further renamed Victoria Reception Centre, which accommodated individuals awaiting sentence, appeal or who had yet to be convicted. Some of the inmates serving shorter sentences were also imprisoned here.
After 1975, Hong Kong saw the influx of large numbers of Vietnamese refugees. In 1977, the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre was completed to replace the functions of Victoria Reception Centre. Victoria Reception Centre was changed to containing inmates awaiting repatriation or deportation, and was renamed Victoria Prison.
As China implemented the open-door policy, an increasing numbers of mainlanders came to Hong Kong through illegal means. In 1980, the Hong Kong Government announced the abolition of the touch-base policy: all illegal immigrants, once discovered and arrested, would be immediately repatriated to the Mainland. This was to discourage Mainlanders risking their lives coming to Hong Kong. At the time, Victoria Prison accommodated not only inmates but also Vietnamese Refugees and Illegal Immigrants; it was again threatened with overcrowding.
In 1985, some of the cells in Victoria Prison were renovated to individually accommodate women illegal immigrants. In 1988, when Hong Kong announced the repatriation of a group of mothers staying illegally in Hong Kong, there was widespread social concern and their husbands and children once sat in protest at Old Bailey Street.
Before the closing of the Victoria Prison, the Prison accommodated 438 illegal immigrants and the head count of containment and release reached over 30 thousand.
At Christmas Eve on 23 December 2005, with the removal of the last correctional officers, immigration officers and inmates, Victoria Prison was officially decommissioned. This place, where once many stories of happiness and grief, meeting and departure came to pass, shall welcome a new chapter of its existence.
