iron pales. Later, eight building lines are divided as areas which named alphabetically as A area, B area, C area, D area, E area, F area, G area, and H area. These areas are combined into 6 zones which are named as AB zone, BC zone, ED zone, FG zone, AH zone, and ID zone. The zones contain 238 cells: The AB zone: 52 cells The ID zone: 17 cells The security zone (solitary confinement zone): 3 cells The D zone: 65 narrow cells The remaining zones: 101 cells. In the center of the prison there is a tall and large water tower that doubles as the main watchtower, allowing the prison guards a clear view of all the prison cells. Apart from prison cells, the main building also has the facilities for prisoners, prison managers and guards. Later, a Christian chapel and a Buddhist temple was built in the land surrounding the main building but they are all destroyed now. There also are small farmland lots and facilities such as a restaurant and toilets for prisoners in this land. The outermost part of the prison is separated from the populous residential areas by a squared brick wall plus barbed-wire fence. There are four watchtowers in the four corners of the walls. Prison operation The prison has been infamous for its harsh and squalid conditions for a very long time, regardless of its operators. In the time of the French colonial government, the prisoners were confined in the light-lacking cells and were usually fettered. In the time of South Vietnam, the prison usually held from 6,000 to 8,000 prisoners or even 10,000 prisoners. These prisoners were divided into two groups by their convicted crimes: the first group were prisoners who were convicted of politically related crimes and the second group were prisoners who were convicted of other crimes. The males and females were confined in different cells and the prisoners could only leave their cells briefly to satisfy their needs for food and hygiene. There was always one battalion of police guarding the prison. In spite of being only a prison, two executions were carried out in Chí Hòa prison: the execution of Ngô Đình Cẩn and the execution of Nguyễn Văn Trỗi. After the fall of Saigon, the prison was kept running by the new Socialist Republic of Vietnam government but there is only little information in regards to