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| Singapore Changi Prison |
East of the island between a commercial airport and a military air base lies a government facility that shares the same name. It was in its former life, a Japanese Prisoner Of War (POW) camp. Now it is where drug mules and murderers are hanged. In the small city-state of Singapore, Changi Prison is synonymous with the death penalty.
October 10th was the World Day against the Death Penalty. Singapore is 1 of 40 countries that still practices corporal and capital punishment. It had until recently the highest number of executions per inhabitant in the world. It is estimated that since 1990, more than 420 death row inmates have been executed. Most are sentenced on drug related offences, although firearm offences and murder also warrants the death penalty. In the summer of 2011, the Singaporean government undertook a general review of its death penalty laws. During the review all death penalty cases were deferred.
In 2012, Minister Teo Chee Hean outlined the government's review. He reaffirmed Singapore's commitment to the death penalty as a legitimate tool of deterrence against the crimes to which it has traditionally applied. However, where certain strict conditions are met, some drug related offences and homicide cases, whilst still carry the death penalty, sentencing will be at the discretion of the courts.
Citing society's changing norms and expectations, more sentencing power should be vested in the courts. Drug trafficking will not carry the mandatory death penalty if the trafficker has only played the role of courier, and has "not [...] been involved in any other activity related to the supply or distribution of drugs." Secondly, the courier must, as well as be only a courier, either cooperate completely with the Central Narcotics Bureau, or have a mental disability.
Therefore, the Ministry of Home Affairs "propose[s] to change the law such that when these conditions are met, the courts will have the discretion either to sentence the trafficker to death, or alternatively to pass a sentence of life imprisonment with caning." In December 2012, the proposed changes to the law were passed through the Singaporean Parliament.
During the review, as mentioned, all death penalty cases were deferred. In January 2013, the Singapore Prison Service released its annual statistical data. It provides the number of capital executions since 2010. According to its data, no executions took place in 2010, 4 took place in 2011, and none again in 2012. In 2013, there have been no reported executions in the Republic of Singapore. The Attorney-General's Chamber said at the time of the government review there were "at least 32 people on death row."
A recent case that attracted the attention of the Singaporean media was that of Abdul Haleem and Muhummad Ridzuan. In 2010, the two drug couriers were caught with 72.5 grams of heroin, almost 5 times over the amount that carries the mandatory death sentence (15g). Both were given the death penalty. However, in April 2013, Abdul Haleem was given the 1st certification from the Attorney-General's Chambers which notified his substantial assistance in disrupting drug trafficking cases. He was instead sentenced to life imprisonment and 24 lashes of the cane. His accomplice's death penalty charge was upheld.
Recent cases from 2013 include Li Yongxian, who killed a co-worker, and Rebecca Loh, who dropped her son from their HDB flat, killing him. They both face the death penalty if convicted. Although declared fit for court, Rebecca Loh is thought to suffer from mental illnesses, and bloggers lament the lack of support she received from the community and government.
One case that has gained international recognition is that of Yong Vui Kong. Amnesty International has long asked for his withdrawal from death row. From a poor family in Sabah, Malaysia, the vulnerable Kong fell into the wrong hands when he moved to Kuala Lumpur in search of riches. He acted several times as a mule, carrying heroin into Singapore, allegedly not knowing the penalty for doing so. He was caught in 2007 aged just 19. He was promptly sentenced to death. Although many appeals were rejected, Yong Vui Kong was granted stays of execution. It is 4 years since his original execution date. This is in large part due to the work of Singaporean human rights lawyer Madasamy Ravi. With the government review, he is eligible to apply change his death penalty to life imprisonment.
It has been claimed there are more people on death row than in the corrections administration. The Singapore Prison Service is subdivided into seven divisions, one of which is the Psychological and Corrections Rehabilitation Division. It is headed by Timothy Leo and Karam Singh. It does not have its own website, nor does it provide data as to the precise number under of inmates it is treating.
According to the Singapore Prison Service's annual statistics, the convicted penal population in 2012, was 9,901. The emplacement number for Community Based Programmes was 1,290, whilst the number of inmates trained in vocational programmes was 5,800. This is considerably more than the alleged 32 people on death row. The recidivism rate has declined consistently over the years, with 23.6% of 2010 release cohort having re-offended.
This, according to Terrence Goh who is Director of the Rehabilitation and Reintegration Division, "is an encouragement to the various agencies and community partners involved in giving second chances to ex-offenders." Initiatives include enhanced supervision for repeat drug offenders and partnerships with civil society organisations such as The Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE). SCORE supplied almost 15,000 training places to inmates in 2011. 88.6% of offenders secured jobs following their release.
Furthermore, with regard to drug abuse, preventative measures are being taken by the Central Narcotics Bureau. Since its inception in 1994, the number of new abusers has fallen whilst drug abuser arrests has tumbled from over 6000 to 2472 in 2012.
However, the past year has seen a leap of 730 more drug offenders being convicted. One could link this to the repealing of death penalty laws in Singapore. In Singapore, there appears to be a gradual inching towards a less deterrence - based attitude in crime prevention. Nevertheless, the supposed 32 on death row are still 32 too many according to organisations such as Amnesty International and the European Union.
Many South-east Asian countries, symptomatic from the hangover from their colonial past, use the death penalty as a deterrence against crimes they deem dangerous and detrimental to the fragile fabrics of their societies. However, there are signs that these countries are heeding the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states "every human being has the inherent right to life".
Despite Vietnam recently putting 4 drug dealers on death row, they are unable to execute them because of an EU ban on the exportation of the chemicals needed for the lethal injection (which they use now instead of hanging due to pressure from the EU). The Philippines, Cambodia and Timor Leste have abolished the death penalty, whilst Malaysia and Indonesia, alongside Singapore, are making moves to repeal the death penalty. Outside pressure seemingly is having an effect.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt there is a still long way to go before the death penalty is abolished in Singapore. Changi Prison will continue to be the scene of many convict's last meal, last farewell, and last breath.
Source: The World Outline, October 15, 2013