Darshan Singh, chief hangman of Singapore.

Darshan Singh (born 1932) is the chief hangman of Singapore. Image File history File links Darshansingh. ... Image File history File links Darshansingh. ... A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority (known in feudal terminology as high justice), usually when presented with a warrant authorizing or ordering him to execute the sentence. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority (known in feudal terminology as high justice), usually when presented with a warrant authorizing or ordering him to execute the sentence. ...

Darshan Singh commenced his post as the hangman for the British colonial service in 1959 upon the retirement of the previous hangman, Mr Seymour. Singh has wanted to resign, but there has been trouble finding a suitable replacement. The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

He has hanged more than 850 condemned prisoners throughout his career, and carries the distinction of being the only hangman to have hanged 18 people in one day (3 at a time). He receives a payment of S$400 (US$312) per execution performed. He also had the distinction of being the fastest hangman for carrying out 7 hangings within 90 minutes. The Singapore dollar, divided into 100 cents, is the monetary unit of Singapore (currency code SGD). ...

He had the job of speaking the last words to every person condemmed to hang which were:

"I am going to send you to a better place than this. God bless you."

He is a Muslim, having converted from Sikhism when he married his Malay wife. He believes that the death penalty provides "complete rehabilitation":

"I'm changing their character to a different one because I believe in rebirth and they will be better men next time."

He refers to the Official Table of Drops as a part of his line of work. 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. ...

His first marriage ended when his wife found out about his occupation. He is currently married to a second wife and has three adopted children.

Van Tuong Nguyen controversey

In November 2005 his identity was publicly revealed in an Australian newspaper, prior to the scheduled controversial execution of Vietnamese Australian Van Tuong Nguyen. This led to reports that he had been fired, which were later denied by Singapore's prison officials. He was called at 6:00 am SGT on the date of Nguyen's execution and picked up the phone at his residence only to say he wasn't called upon to do the job. Some sources reported the possibility that an executioner was brought in from nearby Malaysia. Ongoing events • Abramoff-Reed gambling scandal • Al Jazeera bombing memo • Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak • Black sites scandal • Conservative leadership race (UK) • Fuel prices • Irans nuclear program • Jilin chemical plant explosions • Kashmir earthquake • Malawi food crisis • Malaysian prisoner abuse scandal • New Delhi bombings investigation • Niger food crisis • North Indian cyclone... Vietnamese Australian is the eleventh largest ethnic group in Australia, numbering 156,581 or 0. ... Van Tuong Nguyens mugshot Van Tuong Nguyen (Vietnamese: Nguyễn Tường Vân, baptised Caleb[1]) (17 August 1980 – 2 December 2005) was a Thailand–born Vietnamese Australian convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore. ... Singapore observes a time zone eight hours ahead of UTC, (UTC+8), known as Singapore Standard Time or SGT. It is the same time zone as Australian Western Standard Time, Chinese Standard Time and Hong Kong Time. ...

In an interview before Nguyen's hanging, Singh said:

"With me, [the prisoners] don't struggle, If [the executioner is] a raw guy, they will struggle like chickens, like fish out of the water."

In response to this, the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said that: R. G. Casey House, the headquarters of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade This is a list of Australian Foreign Ministers: Note: Prior to 1970, the office was known as the Minister for External Affairs. ... The Hon. ...

"I don't think the executioner is qualified to give useful advice, I think he seems to have found great appeal in making a spectacle of himself in the media. And I tell you that's completely inappropriate … [and] I don't want to hear from him again."

According to a report by The New Paper on 30 November 2005, Singh was tricked into giving the interview when two reporters claiming to be acquaintances of a close friend turned up at his Marsiling Road flat. Singh also said that his picture was taken without his knowledge and approval. ^[1] The New Paper is Singapores second highest circulating English-language newspaper, first launched on July 26, 1988 by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). ...

Notes

1. ^  “I was tricked”, The New Paper, November 30, 2005.

The New Paper is Singapores second highest circulating English-language newspaper, first launched on July 26, 1988 by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). ...

References

• “Nguyen executioner revealed”, The Australian, October 28, 2005.
• “Singapore sacks its hangman”, Herald Sun, November 27, 2005.
• “Singapore top executioner 'fired'”, BBC News Online, November 28, 2005.
• “Executioner hopes to be called in for Nguyen hanging”, Reuters, November 28, 2005.
• “Hangman ignites outrage”, Reuters, November 30, 2005.