Caning is a widely used form of corporal punishment in Singapore. It can be divided into several contexts: judicial, prison, reformatory, military, school and domestic. These practices of caning as punishment were introduced during the period of British colonial rule in Singapore. Similar forms of corporal punishment are also used in some other former British colonies, including two of Singapore's neighbouring countries, Malaysia and Brunei.
Capital punishment in Singapore is a legal penalty. Executions in Singapore are carried out by long drop hanging, and usually take place at dawn. Thirty-three offences—including murder, drug trafficking, terrorism, use of firearms and kidnapping—warrant the death penalty under Singapore law.
See Kee Oon is a Singaporean judge who is currently a Judge of the Supreme Court and was the Presiding Judge of the State Courts.
Ravi Madasamy, better known as M Ravi, is a Singaporean human rights lawyer and activist. Known for his work as a cause lawyer, he has served as counsel in multiple high-profile court cases in Singapore, many of which have become leading cases in Singaporean constitutional law and Singapore's approach toward capital punishment and LGBT rights.
Eugene Singarajah Thuraisingam is a lawyer from Singapore. He is the founder of the law firm Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, a law firm that specialises in international arbitration and criminal and commercial litigation. He is also known for his advocacy of human rights and for his opposition of the death penalty in Singapore. In relation to his domestic practice as a criminal lawyer in Singapore, Thuraisingam has defended many alleged suspects in high profile criminal trials, including those who were dissidents and critics of the government of Singapore. For his legal service for many defendants in the court of Singapore, Doyles Guide has named him as a leading criminal defence lawyer in Singapore in 2020.
Chan Seng Onn is a Singaporean judge. Formerly a prosecutor, Chan has served as a High Court judge since 2 July 2007.
Nagaenthran a/l K. Dharmalingam was a Malaysian drug trafficker who was convicted of trafficking 42.72 grams of heroin in April 2009 upon entering Singapore from Malaysia at Woodlands Checkpoint with a bundle of heroin strapped to his thigh. Nagaenthran confessed to committing the crime, but gave statements claiming that he was ordered to commit the crime out of duress by a mastermind who assaulted him and threatened to kill his girlfriend and his family. He also claimed he did so to get money to pay off his debts before he later denied any knowledge of the contents of his bundle.
Pannir Selvam a/l Pranthaman is a Malaysian drug trafficker who was convicted of trafficking 51.84g of heroin at Woodlands Checkpoint in September 2014. Pannir, who was not certified as a drug courier, was sentenced to death in Singapore for his crime in May 2017. After his appeal was dismissed in February 2018, Pannir and his family submitted various clemency petitions, which were all rejected on 17 May 2019.
Cheong Chun Yin is a Malaysian and former death row convict who is currently serving a life sentence in Singapore for drug trafficking. Cheong and a female accomplice were both convicted of trafficking of 2,726g of heroin into Singapore from Myanmar in 2008, and sentenced to death by hanging in 2010. Cheong submitted multiple unsuccessful appeals against his sentence; his case, similar to Yong Vui Kong's, received much attention in the media, at a time when activists argued for Singapore to abolish the death penalty.
Sim Ah Cheoh was a Singaporean drug trafficker of Chinese descent. She was originally sentenced to death in 1988 for the crime, for which she was arrested in 1985, and Sim's two accomplices Lim Joo Yin and Ronald Tan Chong Ngee were also arrested and received the same sentence, and like Sim, both also lost their appeals against their sentence. Subsequently, while Lim and Tan were executed on 3 April 1992, Sim was granted clemency and her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, making her the fourth person since 1959, as well as the second female and second drug convict on death row to be pardoned from execution by the President of Singapore.
Datchinamurthy a/l Kataiah is a Malaysian man who was sentenced to death in Singapore for drug trafficking. Datchinamurthy was convicted of trafficking nearly 45g of heroin across the Woodlands Checkpoint from Malaysia to Singapore in January 2011. Having been convicted of the crime and also not certified as a courier, Datchinamurthy was sentenced to death in 2015. He had a co-accused, Christeen d/o Jayamany, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the same offence.
Abdul Kahar bin Othman was a Singaporean drug trafficker who was found guilty in 2013 of two charges of trafficking a total of 66.77 grams of heroin in Singapore, and later sentenced to death by the High Court in February 2015. After the end of his trial, Abdul Kahar tried to appeal the verdict but the courts dismissed his legal challenges and upheld his death sentence.
Norasharee bin Gous was a Singaporean who was found guilty of soliciting a man named Mohamad Yazid Md Yusof to traffic 120.90g of diamorphine (heroin). Upon the courier's arrest on 23 October 2013, Norasharee was not arrested until July 2015, and he was charged with abetting and instigating Yazid to commit drug trafficking. A third co-accused, Kalwant Singh Jogindar Singh, was also arrested on the same date and venue as Yazid and charged in court for drug trafficking.
Kalwant Singh a/l Jogindar Singh was a Malaysian drug trafficker who was found guilty of having 60.15g of diamorphine (heroin) in his possession and trafficking 120.90g of the same substance. Kalwant along with another man named Mohamad Yazid Md Yusof were arrested on 23 October 2013, and the alleged mastermind Norasharee Gous was captured two years later in July 2015, and all three of them were charged with drug trafficking. It was alleged that Norasharee had told Yazid to help import the diamorphine after meeting up with Kalwant, who was to carry the drugs in Singapore to pass on to Yazid for the purpose of trafficking. Kalwant, however, denied that he had knowledge of the drugs and alleged that he was given death threats that forced him to help do the job without knowing it was drugs.
Nazeri bin Lajim, full name Nazeri bin Lajim Hertslet, was a Singaporean drug trafficker. Prior to his arrest in April 2012, Nazeri went to prison several times for drug consumption and several other drug offences, and was said to be addicted to drugs at age 14. Nazeri and his Malaysian accomplice were both brought to trial and found guilty five years later on 8 August 2017.
Abdul Rahim bin Shapiee was a Singaporean Uber driver who faced capital punishment in Singapore for trafficking of 41.24g of heroin. After his arrest on 3 August 2015, Abdul Rahim, who was also charged with consuming drugs, was convicted in March 2018 and despite the prosecution's acknowledgement of his role as a courier and himself having provided substantive assistance to the authorities, Abdul Rahim still received the death penalty since he had performed duties that exceeded that of a mere drug runner. After failing to overturn his sentence through appeal, Abdul Rahim was hanged on 5 August 2022. One of his two accomplices, Ong Seow Ping, was also arrested and executed for drug trafficking, and the other was serving a life sentence for the same offence.
Rozman bin Jusoh was a Malaysian convicted drug trafficker. He and his childhood friend Razali bin Mat Zin were both arrested in Singapore for two separate charges of trafficking 1.04 kg of marijuana and 943.3g of the same substance, as a result of an undercover operation facilitated by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). It was decreed by Singapore law that trafficking 500g of marijuana or more was punishable by death.
Tangaraju s/o Suppiah was a Singaporean convicted drug trafficker who was charged in February 2014 with abetting the trafficking of about 1 kg (2.2 lb) of cannabis. Prior to his arrest in 2014, Tangaraju had been to prison several times for marijuana consumption and other marijuana offences, and was said to be a user of it since he was 12. He was found guilty and sentenced to death on 9 October 2018, as the trial court found that he conspired with another man to deliver the marijuana as confirmed by the circumstantial evidence against Tangaraju.
Saridewi binte Djamani was a Singaporean who was sentenced to death in 2018 for smuggling 1 kg of drug containing 30.72g of heroin. Saridewi, who committed the offence on 17 June 2016, was arrested on the same day together with her accomplice at her HDB block in Anchorvale Road, Sengkang. Saridewi, who had a long history of drug abuse, did not deny that she sold the drugs but she stated that a majority of the heroin was meant for her own consumption while less than half of the heroin was for sale, and she only stocked up the drug supply for the fasting month Ramadan.
