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175:) 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
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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
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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
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In the time of South
Vietnam, the prison usually held from 6,000 to 8,000 prisoners or even 10,000 prisoners. Chí Hòa was one of four official South Vietnamese national prisons. These prisoners were divided into two groups by their convicted crimes: the first group were prisoners who were convicted
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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
250:
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.
218:. 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
146:
on a 7-hectare site consisting of detention rooms, jail cells, prison walls, watchtowers, facilities and prisoner's farmlands. The prison is one of 12 national prisons in
Vietnam. Originally built by the French Indochina colonial government in 1943 (or 1939) to replace the
271:
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.
297:
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
151:, 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
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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
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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.
544:
198:
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.
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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:
214:'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
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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
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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
179:. After the return of the French in 1950, the construction was resumed and the building process was completely finished in 1953.
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which are named as AB zone, BC zone, ED zone, FG zone, AH zone, and ID zone. The zones contain 238 cells:
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567:"Capture, classification and incarceration of Communist captives during Vietnam's American War"
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plus barbed-wire fence. There are four watchtowers in the four corners of the walls.
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which describes the conditions of the prison as extremely bad.
488:, page 288 Publisher: Westport, Conn.; Greenwood Press, 2006.
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The bamboo gulag: political imprisonment in communist
Vietnam
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The black book of communism : crimes, terror, repression
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TPHCM: Quy hoạch chung cư tại khu đất trại giam Chí Hòa
475:, Government of Ho Chi Minh city, Accessed 10/12/2010
517:“Lò bát quái” Chí Hòa - Những chuyện sau cửa ngục
486:Prisons and prison systems: a global encyclopedia
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206:The prison's main structure is a three-floor
718:Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City
307:break which Vietnamese police described as "
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662:newspaper, 21/03/2010, Accessed 10/12/2010
529:newspaper, 24/06/2009. Accessed 10/12/2010
177:Empire of Japan overthrowing of the French
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657:Phước "tám ngón" và vụ vượt ngục Chí Hoà
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637:, page 574, Harvard University Press
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466:Vài nét về khám Chí Hòa - Giới thiệu
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633:Stéphane Courtois and Mark Kramer,
304:the defeat of Japan in World War II
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16:Prison in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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571:Journal of Southeast Asian Studies
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708:Vietnam War prisoner-of-war camps
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163:In 1930s, the 1890 French-built
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421:in Embassy of the South Korea,
246:The remaining zones: 101 cells.
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624:newspaper. Accessed 10/12/2010
611:Vụ xử bắn thứ nhất tại Chí Hòa
565:Berni, Marcel (October 2023).
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675:, page 170, McFarland, 2004,
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196:Socialist Republic of Vietnam
42:District 10, Hồ Chí Minh City
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309:an unbelievable prison break
210:, heavily influenced by the
194:, the new government of the
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291:The Black Book of Communism
243:The D zone: 65 narrow cells
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405:, famous Vietnamese robber
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584:10.1017/S0022463423000449
171:Maison Centrale de Saigon
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216:I Ching's eight trigrams
302:took the advantage of
192:fall of Saigon in 1975
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698:Prisoner-of-war camps
280:and the execution of
233:The ID zone: 17 cells
230:The AB zone: 52 cells
238:solitary confinement
594:20.500.11850/650693
236:The security zone (
165:Saigon Grand Prison
149:Saigon Grand Prison
142:. The prison is an
71:10.7769°N 106.669°E
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723:Prisons in Vietnam
713:Torture in Vietnam
616:2011-09-11 at the
547:2010-06-01 at the
522:2014-04-19 at the
471:2011-07-20 at the
208:octagonal building
144:octagonal building
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703:Vietnam War sites
484:Mitchel P. Roth,
315:Notable prisoners
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256:Christian chapel
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383:, politician
371:, politician
365:, politician
359:, politician
337:, politician
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124:Khám Chí Hòa
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377:, Martyrdom
90:Operational
74: /
62:106°40′08″E
49:Coordinates
692:Categories
577:(3): 529.
553:Thanh Niên
441:References
375:Võ Thị Sáu
190:After the
59:10°46′37″N
555:newspaper
394:Post-1975
387:Vũ Vũ Gia
300:Viet Minh
254:Later, a
614:Archived
545:Archived
520:Archived
469:Archived
429:See also
419:minister
343:, writer
320:Pre-1975
38:Location
329:Lam Sơn
212:I Ching
184:Bảo Đại
159:History
140:Vietnam
108: (
679:
641:
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353:member
258:and a
103:Opened
87:Status
224:zones
220:areas
677:ISBN
639:ISBN
490:ISBN
110:1953
106:1953
98:High
589:hdl
579:doi
351:NLF
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