PUTRAJAYA, March 22 -- The Home Ministry said only one inmate returns to prison out of every 800 who are released after serving their sentences, according to Prisons Department data for last year.

In his speech addressing the ministry's monthly staff meeting, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this represented a success for the post-release rehabilitative programme.

"Last year's data showed that out of every 800 who are released from prison, only one is a repeat offender.

"That means only 0.3 per cent return to prison. This is a success story for the Prisons Department," he said.

He said that the programme involving more than 200 companies such as Panasonic, Mass Rail Transit and Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corp...