Convicts drum violence out of their systems

TWENTY inmates pound barrel-sized drums in a Taiwanese prison courtyard until they are so drenched with sweat that colourful tattoos show through their thin cotton T-shirts.

The convicts range in age from 18 to 25 and most of their records include violence or serious drug abuse. They beat out their energetic rhythms under a blazing summer sun during their midday session at the Changhua Prison. The prison 250km south of the capital, Taipei, is one of the latest proving grounds for rehabilitation programmes involving dance or other performing arts. Prisons in Japan, the US and other countries have experimented with them in recent years.

A Philippines prison wowed the world when a YouTube video went viral in 2009 with 1,600 of its inmates dancing to Michael Jackson.