Riot Island

Could a prison without bars and armed guards really work? Facing a wave of organized crime in the 1950s, Singapore decided to find out. In a revolutionary new penal initiative, the country sent hardened gangsters to an open-air prison on the idyllic desert island of Pulau Senang. This series explores the pioneering experiment from its inception to its catastrophic end.Initially lauded worldwide, within three years the prison was making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The whole complex was…