Chua Chin Kiat
Mr Chua Chin Kiat served in the public service for 36 years 31 of which as a Police Officer. He held various key posts in that capacity including Director of Operations and Director CID among others.
His last job in the public service from 1998 to 2007 was Director of Prison Service, now known as the Commissioner of Prisons while holding the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Post public service
After he retired from the public service, he served for 3 and a half years as the CEO of Aetos Security Management Pte Ltd (a wholly owned Temasek company) until he retired in 2011 to devote himself to volunteer work and writing. His tenure saw Aetos growing from a struggling company to one that brought in more $11,000,000 in profit after tax.
He chaired the board of Centre for Enabled Living (CEL) from 2008 (when the company was first formed) to 2013 when it was re-structured to become SG Enabled. CEL was set up by the government to serve the social care needs of the disabled and elderly. He was on the board of Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) from 2009 (when it was formed) to 2018. AIC is the national integrator of aged care.
A lifetime of achievement.
Mr Chua is an expert on prisons and the challenges of rehabilitation and recidivism.
Director of Prisons
When Mr Chua took over the helm as Director of Prisons, the Service started many new and bold initiatives which transformed the organisation into an exemplary prison system with the vision of returning prisoners to society as responsible citizens. The tagline “Captains of Lives” was coined to describe the new role played by Prison Officers. He was the initiator of the Yellow Ribbon Project which still helps ex-offenders reintegrate back to society today.
Legacy
The Singapore Prison story became the subject of 2 case studies, one by INSEAD and the other by Civil Service College. He was the author of 2 books on prison reform, namely, The Making of Captains of Lives and Leading Reform
Honours
Mr Chua was a recipient of the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2005 for his contributions as the Director of Prisons. His name again appeared in the 2013 National Day Honours list, being awarded the Public Service Medal (PBM) for his contributions to the disabled and aged care sectors..
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