Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment in Singapore. The state had the highest per-capita execution rate in the world between 1994 and 1999, estimated by the United Nations to be 13.57 executions per one million population during that period. The next highest was Saudi Arabia with 4.65. Each execution is carried out by hanging at Changi Prison at dawn on a Friday. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... Look up Punishment in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... Hanging is the suspension of a person by a ligature, usually a cord wrapped around the neck, causing death. ... Changi chapel, built by Australian POWs in 1944, later relocated to Duntroon, Canberra Changi Prison (Simplified Chinese: ) is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. ...

All capital trials take place in public, before one High Court judge, and each person sentenced to death is automatically entitled to one appeal before the Court of Appeal. The transcripts of these court proceedings are public records. Recent judgements of the High Court and the Court of Appeal, including those of capital cases, are available on the Court website.^[1] The government of Singapore does not release compiled statistics of capital punishment in the country and it does not publicly release details of each execution including the date of execution. The local news media usually put a short notice of each execution after it was carried out. Judicial power in Singapore is vested in the Supreme Court as well as surbodinate courts by the constitution. ... Judicial power in Singapore is vested in the Supreme Court as well as surbodinate courts by the constitution. ... The Government of Singapore is formed by the political party which gains a 50% majority in the general elections held in Singapore at least once every five years. ...

The use of the death penalty as a mandatory punishment for certain non-violent crimes such as drug offences has drawn criticism from human rights groups. However the government dismisses these, insisting they only impose the death penalty in the most serious of crimes^{[citation needed]} while accusing non-governmental groups like Amnesty International of "misrepresenting" facts.^{[citation needed]} Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... “NGO” redirects here. ... Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a pressure group that promotes human rights. ...

Usage

The following table of executions was compiled by Amnesty International from several sources, including statistics supplied by the Ministry for Home Affairs in January 2001 and government figures reported to Agence France-Presse in September 2003. Numbers in braces are the number of foreign nationals executed, according to information disclosed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. AFP logo Paris headquarters of AFP Charles Havas Agence France-Presse (AFP) is the oldest news agency in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. ...

Detailed statistics are not released by the government of Singapore. Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong told the BBC in September 2003 that he believed there were "in the region of about 70 to 80" hangings in 2003. Two days later he retracted his statement, saying the number was in fact ten. The Priminster of Singa pyohbsdg vjhd|Lee Kuan Yew||3 June 1959 || 28 November 1990 || 1968 GE 94. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Goh Goh Chok Tong (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Hokkien: Gô· Chok-tòng; born May 20, 1941), was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from November 28, 1990 to August 12, 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ...

The chief executioner, Darshan Singh, said that he has executed more than 850 people during his service from 1959. This included 18 people on one day, using three ropes at a time. Singh also said that he has hanged 7 people within 90 minutes. Darshan Singh, chief hangman of Singapore. ...

Foreign nationals

The people on death row include foreign nationals, many of whom were convicted of drug-related offences. They came from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, People's Republic of China, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ghana, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Portugal. Figures released by the government of Singapore show that between 1993 to 2003, 36% of the those executed were foreigners, including those living in Singapore (one quarter of residents of Singapore are foreigners).

Most recently, Nigerian Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi was executed on 26 January 2007 after being caught with 727.02 grams of heroin at Singapore Changi Airport. Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi (born in 1986?[1]; died on 2007-01-26) was a Nigerian national convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore. ... is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Singapore Changi Airport (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), or simply Changi Airport (IATA: SIN, ICAO: WSSS) is a major aviation hub in Asia, particularly in the Southeast Asian region, and is the main airport in Singapore. ...

Legislation

Under Section 216 of the Singapore Criminal Code:

"When any person is sentenced to death, the sentence shall direct that he shall be hanged by the neck till he is dead but shall not state the place where nor the time when the sentence is to be carried out."

Hangings always take place at dawn on Friday and are by the long drop method developed in the United Kingdom by William Marwood. The executioner refers to the Official Table of Drops. The government have said that they: Hanging is the suspension of a person by a ligature, usually a cord wrapped around the neck, causing death. ... William Marwood (1820 - 1883), a cobbler, of Church Lane, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England at the age of 54 persuaded the governor of Lincoln prison to allow him to conduct an execution. ... The Official Table of Drops, published by the British Home Office, is a manual used to calculate the correct length of rope for the long drop hangings. ...

"…had previously studied the different methods of execution and found no reason to change from the current method used, that is, by hanging."

No person under the age of 18 at the time of their offence nor pregnant women can be sentenced to death.

Capital cases are heard by a single judge in the High Court of Singapore. After conviction and sentencing, the sentenced has one appeal to the Court of Appeal of Singapore, after which, the judicial system plays no further part. The final recourse rests with the President of Singapore, who has the power to grant clemency on the advice of the Cabinet. The exact number of successful appeals is unknown. Poh Kay Keong had his conviction overturned after the Court found his statement to a Central Narcotics Bureau officer was made under duress. Successful clemency applications are thought to be even rarer. Since 1965, President's clemency has been granted six times.^[2] The last clemency was in May 1998 when Mathavakannan Kalimuthu received pardon from President Ong Teng Cheong with the sentence commuted to life imprisonment. Judicial power in Singapore is vested in the Supreme Court as well as surbodinate courts by the constitution. ... Judicial power in Singapore is vested in the Supreme Court as well as surbodinate courts by the constitution. ... Flag of the President of Singapore - banner of arms The President of Singapore is the head of state. ... Ong Teng Cheong (Chinese: 王鼎昌; Pinyin: Wáng Dǐngchāng) (January 22, 1936 - February 8, 2002) was the first elected President of Republic of Singapore. ...

The condemned are given notice at least four days before execution. In the case of foreigners who have been sentenced to death, their families and diplomatic missions/embassies are given one to two weeks' notice.

Death row inmates are housed in cells of roughly 3 m² (30 ft²). Walls make up three sides, while the fourth is vertical bars. They are equipped with a toilet, sleeping mat and a bucket for washing. Exercise is permitted twice a day for half an hour at a time. Four days before the execution, the condemned is allowed to watch television or listen to the radio. Special meals of their choice are also cooked, if within the prison budget. Visitation rights are increased from one 20 minute visit per week, though no physical contact is allowed with any visitors.

Capital offences

In addition to the Penal Code, there are four Acts of Parliament in Singapore that prescribe death as punishment for offences. According to the local civil rights group, the Think Centre, 70% of hangings are for drug-related offences. An Act of Parliament or Act is law enacted by the parliament (see legislation). ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ...

Penal Code^[3]

• Waging or attempting to wage war or abetting the waging of war against the Government
• Offences against the President’s person
• Mutiny
• Piracy that endangers life
• Perjury that results in the execution of an innocent person
• Murder
• Abbetment in the suicide of a person under the age of 18 or "insane" person
• Attempted murder by a prisoner serving a life sentence
• Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder
• Robbery committed by five or more people that results in the death of a person

For other uses, see War (disambiguation). ... Mutiny is the act of conspiring to disobey an order that a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the military; or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) are legally obliged to obey. ... This article is about maritime piracy. ... Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ... Inmates at Bedlam Asylum, as portrayed by William Hogarth Insanity, or madness, is a semi-permanent, severe mental disorder typically stemming from a form of mental illness. ... Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ...

Misuse of Drugs Act

The Singapore embarkation card contains a warning to visitors about the death penalty for drug trafficking. Warning signs can also be found at the Johor-Singapore Causeway and other border entries. Singapore Airlines also announces similar warnings to air passengers during flights to the country.^{[citation needed]}

Under the Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act,^[4] any person found in the possession of more than the following quantities of drugs receives a mandatory death sentence: Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Johor-Singapore Causeway, as viewed from the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore, facing towards Johor Bahru, Malaysia. ... Singapore Airlines Limited (Abbreviation: SIA; Chinese: ; Pinyin: , abbreviated 新航; Malay: ; Tamil: ) (SGX: S55) is the national airline of Singapore. ... Singapores Misuse of Drugs Act is a national drug control law classifying substances into three categories, Classes A, B, and C. Section 44 provides that The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette add, remove, or transfer drugs among the Classes. ...

• Opium: 1,200 g, containing more than 30 g of morphine
• Any controlled drug (except opium): containing more than 30 g of morphine
• Diamorphine (Heroin): 15 g
• Morphine: 30 g
• Cocaine: 30 g
• Cannabis: 500 g
• Cannabis mixture: 1,000 g
• Hashish: 200 g
• Methamphetamine: 250 g

Also receiving death sentences is any person caught manufacturing This article is about the drug. ... Morphine (INN) (IPA: ) is a highly potent opiate analgesic drug and is the principal active agent in opium and the prototypical opiate. ... For other uses, see Heroin (disambiguation). ... Morphine (INN) (IPA: ) is a highly potent opiate analgesic drug and is the principal active agent in opium and the prototypical opiate. ... Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ... Cannabis (also known as marijuana[1] or ganja[2] in its herbal form and hashish in its resinous form[3]) is a psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa L. subsp. ... Confiscated hashish. ... This article is about the psychostimulant, d-methamphetamine. ...

• Morphine, or any salt of morphine, ester of morphine or salt of ester of morphine
• Diamorphine (Heroin) or any salt of diamorphine
• Cocaine or any salt of cocaine
• Heroin

The Misuse of Drugs Act places heavy burden on the accused to prove innocence. Under the act any person found in possession of more than the prescribed amounts is assumed to be trafficking. Any person who has in their possession a key to a premises where drugs are found is assumed to be possession of the drugs. The act states not being in physical contact with the drugs is not a defence to the charge. Singapores Misuse of Drugs Act is a national drug control law classifying substances into three categories, Classes A, B, and C. Section 44 provides that The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette add, remove, or transfer drugs among the Classes. ...

Internal Security Act^[5]

The Internal Security Act is used to allow the government to detain people it sees as a threat to internal security. The President of Singapore has the power to designate certain security areas. Any person caught in the possession or with someone in possession of firearms, ammunition or explosives in a security area can be punished by death. The Internal Security Act (ISA) of Singapore[1] confers on the government the right to arrest and detain individuals without trial in certain defined circumstances. ...

Arms Offences Act^[6]

The Arms Offences Act regulates the offences with regards to firearms. Any person who uses or attempts to use arms (Section 4) can face execution, as well as any person who uses or attempts to use arms to commit some scheduled offences (Section 4A). These scheduled offences are being a member of an unlawful assembly; rioting; certain offences against the person; abduction or kidnapping; extortion; burglary; robbery; preventing or resisting arrest; vandalism; mischief. Any person who is an accomplice (Section 5) to a person convicted of arms use during a scheduled offence can likewise be executed. Unlawful assembly is a legal term to describe a group of people with the mutual intent of deliberate disturbance of the peace. ... Teamsters, armed with pipes, riot in a clash with riot police in the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934. ... In criminal law, an offence against the person usually refers to a crime which is committed by direct physical harm or force being applied to another person. ... Extortion is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person either obtains money, property or services from another through coercion or intimidation or threatens one with physical harm unless they are paid money or property. ... Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement or destruction of a structure, a symbol or anything else that goes against the will of the owner/governing body. ... Mischief, in criminal law, is an offence against property that does not involve conversion. ...

Trafficking in arms (Section 6) is a capital offence in Singapore. Under the Arms Offences Act, trafficking is defined as being in unlawful possession of more than 2 arms. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Kidnapping Act^[7]

Under the Kidnapping Act abduction, wrongful restraint or wrongful confinement for ransom is a capital offence.

Public debate

Public debate existent, although the topic does occasionally get discussed in the midst of major, well-known criminal cases. Efforts to garner public opinion on the issue are rare, although it is generally assumed that most Singaporeans support it and believe it plays a part in keeping the crime rate in Singapore low. This graph shows the rate of non-fatal firearm-related crime in the United States from 1993 to 2003. ...

Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, the first ever opposition Member of Parliament in Singapore, was only given a few minutes to speak in parliament on the issue before his comments were rebutted by the Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs.^{[citation needed]} Few other opposition members in parliament would bring up the issue, which may be reflective of a population generally indifferent to the matter. Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (born 1926; more commonly known as or JBJ) is Singapores first ever opposition party candidate to become Member of Parliament (MP) in its first 16 years of independence. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ...

The government states that the death penalty is only used in the most serious of crimes, sending, they say, a strong message to would-be offenders. They make no apology for their tough stance on law and order in the country. They point out that in 1994 and 1999 the United Nations General Assembly has failed to adopt resolutions calling for a moratorium on the death penalty worldwide, as a majority of countries opposed such a move. The United Nations General Assembly (GA) is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations. ... A United Nations resolution (or UN resolution) is a formal text adopted by a United Nations (UN) body. ...

The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Singapore to the United Nations wrote a letter to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in 2001 which stated: The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... Special Rapporteur is a title given to individuals working on behalf of the United Nations who bear a specific mandate from the former UN Commission on Human Rights to investigate, monitor and recommend solutions to human rights problems. ... Extrajudicial punishment is physical punishment without the permission of a court or legal authority, and as such, constitutes a violation of basic human rights (such as the right to due process and humane treatment). ...

"…the death penalty is primarily a criminal justice issue, and therefore is a question for the sovereign jurisdiction of each country […] the right to life is not the only right, and […] it is the duty of societies and governments to decide how to balance competing rights against each other."

Before the hanging of Shanmugam Murugesu, a three-hour vigil was held on May 6, 2005. The organisers of the event at the Furama Hotel said it was the first such public gathering organised solely by members of the public against the death penalty in Singapore. Murugesu had been arrested after being caught in possession of six packets containing just over 1 kg of cannabis after returning from Malaysia. He admitted knowledge of one of the packets, which contained 300 g, but not the other five. The event went unreported on the partially state-owned media and the police shut down an open microphone session before the first person could speak. Shanmugam Murugesu (c. ... is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The AIG Tower (Chinese: 美國國際集團大廈) in Hong Kong is a 185 m (607 ft. ... Cannabis (also known as marijuana[1] or ganja[2] in its herbal form and hashish in its resinous form[3]) is a psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa L. subsp. ...

After the hanging of Van Tuong Nguyen, a Vietnamese Australian man from Melbourne, Australia, on December 2, 2005, Sister Susan Chia the province leader of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Singapore took the opportunity to declare that "The death penalty is cruel, inhumane and it violates the right to life." Chia and several other nuns took it upon themselves to comfort Nguyen's mother two weeks before his execution for heroin trafficking.^[8] Van Tuong Nguyen (Vietnamese: Nguyá»…n Tường Vân  , baptised Caleb[1]) (17 August 1980 – 2 December 2005) was an Australian from Melbourne, Victoria convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore. ... Vietnamese Australian refers to citizens or residents of Australia who are ethnically Vietnamese. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ... is the 336th day of the year (337th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Sisters of the Good Shepard were formed in Angers, France in 1835 by Mary Euphrasia Pelletier. ...

Singapore's death penalty laws have drawn comments in the media. For example, the science fiction author William Gibson, while a journalist, wrote a travel piece on Singapore in which he sarcastically referred to it as "Disneyland with the death penalty."^[9] Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... William Gibson is generally credited with the invention of the Science Fiction genre known as cyberpunk, as well as coining the term cyberspace. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Disneyland (disambiguation). ...

Law Society review

In December 2005, the Law Society of Singapore revealed that it has set up a committee to examine capital punishment in the country. President of the Society, Senior Counsel Philip Jeyaretnam said that the main focus of the review was on issues regarding administering the death penalty such as whether it should be mandatory. A report of the review would be submitted to the Ministry of Law. The Law Society of Singapore is the organisation that represents all lawyers in Singapore. ... The title of Senior Counsel (postnominal SC; 資深大律師 in Hong Kong Cantonese [1] [2]; 高级律师 in Singapore Mandarin [3] [4]) or State Counsel is given to a senior barrister or advocate in some countries, especially in Commonwealth countries or jurisdictions in which the British monarch is no longer head of state, such... Philip Jeyaretnam, son of veteran opposition politician J._B._Jeyaretnam (JBJ), graduated from Cambridge University in 1986 with First-Class Honours in Law. ... The Minister for Law is an appointment in the Cabinet of Singapore, responsible for heading the Ministry of Law. ...

Cases

Notable past cases

• Johannes van Damme, for drug trafficking. He was the first European executed in Singapore since its independence.
• Tong Ching-man and Poon Yuen-chung, for drug trafficking. The two Hong Kong girls were both 18 years old at the time of their crime.
• Flor Contemplación, for murder.
• Van Tuong Nguyen, for drug trafficking.
• Took Leng How, for murder. Took's appeal was rejected by 2-to-1 vote in the Court of Appeal with Justice Kan Ting Chiu dissenting.
• Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi, for drug trafficking.

Johannes van Damme (1 June 1935 – 23 September 1994) was a Dutch engineer executed by hanging in Singapore for smuggling heroin. ... Flor R. Contemplación (January 1953 - March 17, 1995) was a Filipino domestic worker who was executed in Singapore for murder. ... Van Tuong Nguyen (Vietnamese: Nguyá»…n Tường Vân  , baptised Caleb[1]) (17 August 1980 – 2 December 2005) was an Australian from Melbourne, Victoria convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore. ... Took Leng How (born 1982, Chinese: 卓良豪 or 杜龍豪, Pinyin: Dù Lóngháo), is a Malaysian convicted of murdering eight-year old Huang Na. ... Justice Kan Ting Chiu is a judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore. ... Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi (born in 1986?[1]; died on 2007-01-26) was a Nigerian national convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore. ...

Current death row

• Leong Siew Chor, 51-year-old, convicted in May 2006 for murdering his lover, a 22-year-old Chinese national, Liu Hong Mei.^[10] As of January 2007, Leong is awaiting appeal for the President's pardon.

Potential capital trials

• Tan Chor Jin, (dubbed "One Eyed Dragon"), to stand trial in January 2007 for alleged murder .

See also

• Illegal drug trade
• Prohibition (drugs)

These lollipops were found to contain heroin when inspected by the US DEA The illegal drug trade is a worldwide black market consisting of production, distribution, packaging and sale of illegal psychoactive substances. ... For the general concept, see Prohibitionism. ...

References

1. ^ Supreme Court Singapore
2. ^ Rita Zahara. "19 murders in first 11 months of 2006, one more than same period in 2005", Channel NewsAsia, 29 December 2006. 
3. ^ 224 {{{cap}}}224224
4. ^ 185 {{{cap}}}185185
5. ^ 143 {{{cap}}}143143
6. ^ 14 {{{cap}}}1414
7. ^ 151 {{{cap}}}151151
8. ^ "End death penalty: Singapore nun", The Age, 4 December 2005. 
9. ^ "Disneyland with the Death Penalty", Wired magazine, September 1993. 
10. ^ Rita Zahara. "Kallang body parts murderer gets death sentence", Channel NewsAsia, 19 May 2006. 

• "Singapore finally finds a voice in death row protest", The Observer, 8 May 2005. 
• Singapore — The death penalty: A hidden toll of executions from Amnesty International
• The Singapore Government's Response To Amnesty International's Report from 30 January 2004
• "Singapore death penalty shrouded in silence", Reuters, 12 April 2002. 
• "Singapore clings to death penalty", Agence France-Presse, 21 November 2005. 

is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a pressure group that promotes human rights. ... is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Asia Death Penalty blog monitors the death penalty in Asia, including in Singapore