50. Aftermath
That afternoon, Lyn, only barely conscious and softly moaning, was wheeled on a trolley to a waiting ambulance-style CNB van for the thirty-minute ride to Changi Prison. The van pulled up to the prison side entrance, and four prison guards and the young chief prison doctor, Dr. Chunhua Liú, met them. Kamari handed Dr. Liú the case paperwork and briefly explained the prisoner's medical status. She had no worry about the care Lynette would receive. Chunhua was an excellent and caring doctor.
Nadia was surprised to see, on the doctor’s neck, a stainless steel collar. It seemed an unusual piece of jewelry, and she didn’t recall seeing it before. However, the two were not on such a close basis that Nadia felt she could ask about the new item. When they finished discussing the case, they shook hands, and the nurse re-entered the van for the ride back to CNB headquarters. Chunhua followed the guards wheeling the trolley with Lyn inside.
They immediately proceeded to the “Intensive Healing” section of the prison infirmary. This area, custom-designed by Chunhua, was reserved for the victims of severe prison punishment (and occationally for those who had come up on the wrong end of a guard’s weapon). Lynette would spend the next two weeks there. During the first part of this time, she was often in and out of consciousness, flirting on the edge of hyteria from the pain and the memory of pain. All this time, for her own safety, Lyn was strapped down to her bed. The restraints were to prevent her from harming herself. Much of the time that she was awake, the girl screamed and thrashed around in excruciating pain. The medical staff was only allowed to administer very mild pain relievers and then only during the first twenty-four hours. For the rest of this early healing time, Lynette was left to suffer in terrible agony. The authorities regarded this as part of the punishment, a punishment they intended the prisoner to never forget. Indeed, many later said they remembered the recovery time as even worse than the actual caning.
After two weeks, Lyn’s buttocks had healed sufficiently for her to be transferred to the general infirmary ward and released from constant restraint.
Once in the general ward, Lyn was visited once by her attorney and twice by her parents. Ravi congratulated her on enduring her punishment so strongly. He urged her to be on her best behavious in prison to llow an early release.
On her parent’s second visit, they were informed that they would only be allowed to meet once every six months thereafter and for only fifteen minutes at a time.
On the way out, the guard whispered to Damien that more frequent visits could be arranged if a "gratuity" of S$500 was paid to the guards. Given how his finances were hanging by a thread after paying the massive fine, Lyn's father could not take up the offer. Lyn’s parents had to resign themselves to only two or three more visits with their child during her incarceration.
Seven weeks after her caning, Dr. Liú informed Lyn that she would be discharged from the infirmary and moved to the general prison population. Later that day, four prison guards, led by a senior guard, introduced as Lim Hua-Upp, arrived to take charge of the prisoner. Wearing only her open back hospital gown and bare-foot, petite Lyn marched in the center of the four brawny men as Lim led them down a labyrinth of hallways.
At last, they entered a larger room with a high ceiling and bright lighting. Standing in the middle of the room, in a crisp, pressed uniform, was a tall, commanding officer with dark hair and gray temples. The procession came up in front of him, and the guards backed slightly away, leaving Lyn alone, facing this man.