‘Seven days of horror and hope’: What happens during someone’s last days on death row in Singapore

The following story was published on April 25, 2023, prior to the execution of Tangaraju Suppiah, a 46-year-old Singaporean convicted of conspiracy to traffick marijuana.

The Singaporean government is very secretive about how it carries out the death penalty, so little is known about what death penalty inmates experience in the last few days before their executions.

As the state prepares to execute Tangaraju Suppiah, a 46-year-old Singaporean convicted of conspiracy to traffick marijuana, tomorrow at dawn, the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), a local activist group working to abolish the death penalty, recently posted some slides detailing how Tangaraju’s last few days have been spent based on information collected from his relatives.

“Singapore gives death row prisoners and their families seven days’ notice of a scheduled execution. What follows is a harrowing seven days of horror, pain and distress, during which families hold on to hope even as prison protocols remind them that there are bigger forces at play,” the post reads.

Photoshoots and treats

Besides a final photoshoot arranged for those on death penalty – where they can dress up in their favorite or new clothes, there are other small allowances that are apparently given as well.

Death row prisoners can request that their family members bring their favorite foods. Tangaraju wanted to have chicken rice, biryani, ice cream soda and milo-flavoured sweets, which he got to taste.

However, he also told his family that a prison guard had told him to watch his weight as he had put on 10kg in the last four months. Because of that, he had been eating only one meal a day.

“Maybe if I’m heavier, it’ll take me longer to go?” Thangaraju wondered, according to the post.

Another allowance given to death row prisoners is that they are given some money to buy treats for others on death row. Thangaraju had chosen to buy fish burgers, curry puffs and soft drinks for his peers.

If you feel like that’s disturbing, even some of the prisoners agree. An ex-death row prisoner who was acquitted last year said that he always felt dreadful about eating and drinking anything someone who was going to die “treated” them.

Even Thangaraju refused to do his final photoshoot at first but gave in when a close family member said he wanted to keep a photo of him as the last one they had of him was from when he was just 19 years old.

Collecting memories

The post also revealed that Thangaraju had requested that his loved ones bring old photos of them all together as he had mostly blocked out those times. However, the old photos apparently triggered “strong flashes of memory”.

Because of this, he also has had trouble sleeping because it had “rekindled a yearning” for wanting to be with his loved ones.

Time of death

Thangaraju is set to be executed tomorrow at 6am, the same time all execution in Singapore are known to take place

Singapore uses the long drop method of hanging in which the height and weight of the person are calculated so that the length of rope is enough to snap their neck when dropped but not decapitate them.

The TJC wondered if they left the prisoner hanging for 20 minutes or if the doctor only took the time of death exactly 20 minutes later because 6:20am is always the time put on the death certificates of those who have been executed.

The TJC also reported that Tanagaraju filed a review application for his case yesterday based on a new legal argument arguing why his conviction and sentence should be set aside, but it was dismissed this afternoon by the court without an oral hearing.

He has no legal options left to avert his execution.

Tanagaraju was hanged on May 17, 2023.

Source: coconuts.co, Staff, April 25, 2023

Reports paint harrowing experience Singapore death-row inmates face in their last days before hanging

Individuals sentenced to death in Singapore are held in a special facility housed in a separate section of the Changi Prison Complex until their execution.

According to Giada Girelli, a human rights analyst at Harm Reduction International, the inmates are kept in strict isolation in small cells furnished only with a toilet, a mat and a bucket.

It is unknown whether prisoners are allowed to leave their cells each day or for how long.

Prison authorities supervise prisoners closely and filter letters and communications with the outside world.

Just days before their execution, the inmates are granted some privileges.

They are reportedly given some time to watch television or listen to the radio and are offered meals of their choosing.

They are also allowed extra visits, which are limited to immediate family members and their legal representatives and take place in a special room closely monitored by prison staff. Inmates are not allowed to touch their visitors or engage in physical contact of any kind.

Photoshoot before execution

According to the authorities, these photoshoots are meant to provide families with a last memory of their loved ones. Inmates can choose to wear their own clothes or use clothes provided by the prison authorities.

While some critics have blasted Singapore's photoshoots of death row inmates as tasteless and cruel, others have argued that the practice may be preferable over nothing for inmates and their families.

Relatives of past inmates have lamented that the days leading up to their execution can be incredibly stressful for the inmates and their families.

Families are often kept in the dark about their execution date and informed just a few days prior.

On the day of the execution, the inmate is given a chance to say goodbye to their family members and legal representatives.

The hanging, which usually takes less than 30 minutes, is done manually by a team of trained executioners.

The inmate, sometimes accompanied by a nun, is brought to the gallows with their hands tied behind their back and a hood over their head. The executioner places a noose around the inmate's neck and the trapdoor is opened, causing the inmate to fall through and hang until they are pronounced dead.

Source: NextShark, Ryan General, April 27, 2023

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