S'pore Prison Service debunks claims about world's 1st floating prison built in S'pore

The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) has debunked claims circulating online that Singapore has launched the world's first "floating prison".

On Jul. 13 and 15, two separate accounts on Instagram posted the fake news that the country had just built a high-tech correctional facility on water, located 500m off the Singapore coast.

It is alleged to be able to house over 2,000 inmates.

One post purported that Singapore built the facility to solve overcrowding and land issues.

The other, describing the prison as "redefining the future of incarceration", went into detail to claim that it is "equipped with AI surveillance, biometric security, robotic patrols, and no traditional bars — just geofenced digital boundaries".

This post, which includes what looks like an AI-generated aerial shot of the imagined facility, has over 10,000 likes and close to 300 comments as of Jul. 18.

SPS' response

In a Facebook post on Jul. 17, SPS wrote that it was aware of the claim, and stated that it is untrue.

"Neither have we had any discussions or plans for such, nor is there a need," SPS added.

It urged members of the public "not to spread misinformation, nor to be taken in by such wild stories, and refer instead to SPS’s website and social media platforms for official information".

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