History in a nutshell
Early in its history, Pudu Prison was the only prison in the state of Selangor. It imprisoned both men and women with short sentences. It later housed criminals including drug offenders and was a location for administering corporal punishment by rotan caning and at one stage death sentences.
It held the infamous gangster, Botak Chin, who was betrayed by his men for carrying heavy firearms, and also Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers for heroin trafficking.
The story of Barlow and Chambers gained fame after it was adapted into the short series "Bangkok Hilton", featuring Nicole Kidman and Denholm Elliott. However, while the story originated from events in Pudu Prison, the series' settings were changed to a location in Thailand.
The gateway to hell, Pudu Prison's last remains (October, 2016).
Prison ghosts
During its time, Pudu Prison was considered haunted by many, because of the deaths and executions that took place here. If this was not bad enough, this prison itself was also built over a Chinese burial ground. Due to this, many people consider the location, where now a commercial venue is being established, one of extremely bad luck.
When Pudu Prison was abandoned, it became a favourite hunting ground for many amateur "ghost busters". A good number of eye witness accounts and videos can be found on YouTube.
In one example, Adam Vai and his crew "Penyingkap Fakta 666" set out to investigate Cell Block D, Records show that Cell Block D was the location where some 180 convicts were reportedly hanged to death from 1933 to 1960. During the investigation, not only weird voices and footsteps were heard, but "something" was also caught on camera, glaring back from one of the empty cells.
Pudu Prison from the inside.
Mural
While in existence, the outside wall of Pudu Prison was home to "the longest mural in the world", and was recognised as such with a mentioning in the Guinness Book of World Records. The mural was painted by a former inmate Khong Yen Chong using 2,000 liters of paint. Sadly, no parts of the mural were preserved when the prison was demolished.
Part of the mural contained an ominous warning.