Chí Hòa Prison

In the 1930s, the 1890 French-built Saigon Grand Prison ( __Maison Centrale de Saigon__) became overcrowded because of the increasing number of prisoners at that time.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%AD_H%C3%B2a_Prison#cite_note-autogenerated1-3) This situation prompted the French Indochina government to build a new and larger prison. In 1939 (or 1943, depending on various sources), the government began the construction of Chi Hoa prison by hiring French contractors and using the design of local Vietnamese architects. In 1945, the construction was interrupted by the [Empire of Japan overthrowing of the French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Vietnam#History "Empire of Vietnam"). After the return of the French in 1950, the construction was resumed and the building process