Prison talk: Commissioner of Correctional Services Kwok Leung-ming presents a souvenir to Beijing Prison Administration Bureau Chief Director Zheng Zhenyuan (left).

Prison officials from Beijing, Guangdong Province, Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong have joined a forum to exchange their views on vocational training and work for prisoners.

The "Beijing/Guangdong/Hong Kong Prison Forum 2007", hosted by the Correctional Services Department from October 9 to 12 in Hong Kong, aimed to enhance correctional services through professional exchanges and close co-operation among those in the profession.

Apart from the three cities' prison officials, two guest delegations from Singapore and Macau also joined the gathering.

"The penal systems in Hong Kong, Guangdong, Beijing, Singapore and Macau operate in distinctive ways.  The forum has allowed us to broaden our horizons and optimise the quality of correctional service through professional exchanges," Commissioner of Correctional Services Kwok Leung-ming said.