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Capital punishment in Singapore

Capital punishment in Singapore is a legal penalty. Executions in Singapore are carried out by long drop hanging,[1] 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.

In 2012, Singapore amended its laws to exempt some offences from the mandatory death sentence.[2] In a 2005 survey by The Straits Times, 95% of Singaporeans were of the view that their country should retain the death penalty.[3] The support steadily fell throughout the years due to the increasing liberal opinions of society. Despite the decline, a large majority of the public remains supportive of the use of the death penalty, with more than 80% of Singaporeans believing that their country should retain the death penalty in 2021.[4]


The most recent execution to be conducted in Singapore took place on 28 February 2024, when 35-year-old Ahmed Salim, a Bangladeshi national, was hanged for the murder of his former fiancée back in 2018.[5]

Legislation[edit]

Procedures[edit]

Section 316 of the Criminal Procedure Code states that the death penalty in Singapore is to be conducted by hanging.[1]


Hangings always take place at dawn and are conducted by the long drop method. The Singapore government has affirmed its choice of execution by hanging in favour of other methods.[6]


It is a normal practice for everyone present in the courtroom to stand and remain silent before the death sentence is passed.[7] The judge will then proceed to announce the death sentence on the accused, who has been found guilty and convicted of the capital offence. The condemned will be given notice at least four days before execution. In the case of foreigners sentenced to death, their families and diplomatic missions or embassies will be given one to two weeks' notice.[8]

Waging or attempting to wage war or abetting the waging of war against the (§121)

Government

that endangers life (§130B) (mandatory)

Piracy

resulting in death (§130E) (mandatory)

Genocide

Abetting of (§132)

mutiny

that results in the execution of an innocent person (§194)

Perjury

(§302) (mandatory for S300(a) of the Penal Code; discretionary for S300(b), S300(c) and S300(d) of the Penal Code)

Murder

Abetting the of a person under the age of 18 or an "insane" person (§305)

suicide

by a prisoner serving a life sentence (§307 (2)) (mandatory)

Attempted murder

in order to commit murder (§364)

Kidnapping

committed by five or more people that results in the death of a person (§396)

Robbery

Death row conditions[edit]

A 1978 newspaper article described the death row section of the original Changi Prison as consisting of 24 cells arranged in a horse shoe shaped block around an open air grassy exercise yard. The exercise area itself was enclosed in steel bars and had a wire mesh roof to prevent escape by helicopter.[93] Amnesty International reports that death row inmates are housed in cells of roughly three square metres (32 square feet).[16] Walls make up three sides, while the fourth is made up of vertical bars. They are equipped with a toilet, a sleeping mat, and a bucket for washing. Exercise is permitted twice a day for half an hour at a time.[8] Four days before the execution, the condemned is allowed to watch television or listen to the radio.[16]


Special meals of their choice are also cooked, if within the prison budget. One documented last meal of an inmate was the last meal order of Tangaraju Suppiah, who asked for chicken rice, ice cream soda, nasi biryani and Milo-flavoured sweets before his hanging, while another was John Martin Scripps, who ordered a pizza and a cup of hot chocolate before his execution.[94][95]


Visiting rights are increased from one 20-minute visit per week to a maximum of four hours each day,[8] though no physical contact is allowed with any visitors.[16] In addition, two days before an execution, an inmate is allowed to have a photo shoot and be given their own clothes to pose during a photoshoot; the photo will be given to their families as remembrance.[96]

Public debate[edit]

Public response[edit]

Public debate in the Singaporean news media on the death penalty is almost non-existent, although the topic is occasionally discussed in the midst of highly publicised criminal cases. Efforts to garner public opinion on the issue are rare, although it has been suggested that the population is influenced by a legalist philosophy which holds that harsh punishment deters crime and helps maintain social peace and harmony.[97] In October 2007, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee said in Parliament that "Certain of us may hold the view that the death penalty should be abolished. But in a survey done two years ago, reported in the Straits Times, 95% of Singaporeans feel that the death penalty should stay. This is something which has helped us to be safe and secure all these years and it is only reserved for a very few select offences."[3]


Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, an opposition Member of Parliament, was reportedly only given a few minutes to speak in Parliament on the issue before his comments were rebutted by Ho Peng Kee.[16][98]


There were a few instances where in certain high-profile cases, the public would argue for the death penalty to be imposed on those who allegedly committed murder. In the case of Annie Ee Yu Lian who was abused and murdered by her two friends, some Singaporeans were angered at the cruelty displayed by the offenders and felt that the sentences (which were between 14 and 16 years) for grievous hurt were too light, which prompted them to petition for harsher punishments; some even demanded for the death penalty to be imposed on the couple.[99][100][101] In another case regarding the death of four-year-old Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser due to child abuse perpetuated by his mother and her boyfriend, some Singaporeans felt that their sentences of ten to eleven years were too light and petitioned to the courts to sentence the couple to death.[102][103]


Younger generations of Singaporeans tend to have a more liberal approach towards drug use. The government, in response, has introduced education programmes on the dangers of drugs.[104] There were cases of ex-drug convicts who also advocated against the use of drugs; some even agree that the death penalty was effective. A former trafficker once stated that in the past, he would always make sure the measurement of his delivered drugs were below the minimum amount to avoid capital punishment.[105] A female prisoner and drug convict also spoke up about the death penalty while being interviewed in prison, where she was serving 26 years' jail since 2014. She agreed to the relevance and effect of the death penalty in stopping people from selling and taking drugs, as she knew how drug trafficking caused damage to families and inflict sufferings especially to the children of drug addicts.[106] Simon Khung, a social media influencer who eventually stopped taking drugs after the 2020 murder of his daughter Megan Khung (who was allegedly killed by her mother),[107] told a newspaper in 2024 that he supported the death penalty for drug trafficking, as he felt that the drug situation in Singapore would grow worse in the absence of capital punishment and more people would become drug abusers and ruin their lives like he and the former abusers had in their pasts; Khung's stance was supported by other ex-abusers, and one of them, Bruce Mathieu (who overcame his drug addiction seven years prior), said that the death penalty had deterred him from resorting to drug smuggling.[108]


In the aftermath of several executions, there were discussions among the Singaporean public about the need for compassion for some death row inmates, owing to arguments that many death row inmates had come from low-income families or had drug addictions before ending up on death row. However, the public sentiments remained leaning towards capital punishment for drugs, owing to arguments concerning rampant rates of drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia, the effectiveness of the death penalty in maintaining Singapore's low crime rate, and the impact drugs have had on the addicts and their families.[109]


When 31-year-old Singaporean Shen Hanjie was sentenced to death for trafficking 34.94g of pure heroin in October 2022,[110] a huge majority of the netizens showed support for the death sentence in Shen's case, with some expressing sympathy for his family, especially his parents. Most of the supporters also stated that the death sentence should be deployed for drug crimes due to its strong deterrent effect.[111] Shen's death sentence was subsequently upheld after he lost his appeal on 1 March 2024.[112]

Protests and opposition[edit]

Before the hanging of Shanmugam Murugesu, a three-hour vigil was held on 6 May 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 grams, but not the other five.[113][114] The event was reportedly unreported by mainstream media outlets, and was later shut down by the police.[113][115]


After the hanging of Australian citizen Van Tuong Nguyen on 2 December 2005, Susan Chia, province leader of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Singapore, declared that "the death penalty is cruel, inhumane and it violates the right to life." Chia and several other nuns comforted Nguyen's mother two weeks before his execution for heroin trafficking.[116]


Singapore's death penalty laws have drawn comments in the media. For example, science fiction author William Gibson, while a journalist, wrote a travel piece on Singapore that he sarcastically titled "Disneyland with the Death Penalty".[117]


In 2010, British author Alan Shadrake published his book, Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, which was critical of the Singapore judicial system.[118] The main criticism of the book asserted that wealthy, often well-connected foreigners, could expect leniency from law enforcement, while the poor and disenfranchised were in effect "summarily executed".[119] Shadrake's book [120] highlighted the contrasting fortunes of German citizen Julia Suzanne Bohl, who ran a major drug ring catering to well off professionals and was herself caught with a capital amount (over 500 grams) of cannabis when police raided her apartment,[121] to Singaporean drug addict Yen May Woen who was caught in possession of 30 grams of low quality heroin. While Bohl had her charges reduced after German diplomatic pressure was allegedly applied amidst much media coverage of her plight and returned to Germany after 3 years imprisonment,[122] the case of Woen received very little coverage in the local newspapers and she was executed [123] after the trial judge handed down the mandatory death sentence.[124]


Shadrake was arrested whilst promoting the book in Singapore and later sentenced to six weeks in prison for contempt of court. He is also charged with criminal defamation. The case attracted worldwide attention, putting the Singapore legal system in the spotlight.[125][126] Shadrake apologised to the court if he had offended the sensitivities of the judiciary and did not mean to undermine the judges or the judiciary, but stood by his book, apart from a mistake contained within.[127] The judge, Quentin Loh, dismissed his apology as "nothing more than a tactical ploy in court to obtain a reduced sentence".[128] Shadrake's conviction for scandalising the court was upheld by the Court of Appeal.[129]


On 5 October 2018, Singapore carried out three executions of drug traffickers - Zainudin bin Mohamed, Abdul Wahid Bin Ismail, and Mohsen Bin Na’im, it led to the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and 28 civil society organizations in Asia showing condemnation over the triple hangings, and these groups the death sentence was a grave violation of the right to life, which was "the most fundamental and essential human right for other rights to be realized". They also argued that the executions of Zainudin, Abdul Wahid and Mohsen did not serve any purpose for the island-state and its citizens in terms of fulfilling the ends of justice.[130]


In March 2022, when Singapore dismissed the final appeal of Malaysian death row prisoner Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam and later authorized the execution of Singaporean drug convict Abdul Kahar Othman, which was its first execution during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 400 Singaporeans, including rights activists Jolovan Wham, Kirsten Han and Kokila Annamalai, who took part in a protest against the government's use of the death penalty at Hong Lim Park.[131][132] With regards to Abdul Kahar's execution, the European Union (EU) condemned it and stated that capital punishment is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which not only failed to deter crime but also defied both humanity's dignity and integrity.[133] Two days prior to Nagaenthran's execution (which took place on 27 April 2022), a candlelight vigil was held on his behalf.[134][135][136]


In October 2023, former Mongolia president Elbegdorj Tsakhia wrote to CNN, expressing his opposition to the death penalty and he cited Singapore as an example. Stating that Mongolia had abolished capital punishment and the crime rate in Mongolia never increased in the aftermath, Elbegdorj stated that he was concerned with the past 16 executions of low to mid-level drug traffickers in Singapore since March 2022, especially the July 2023 hanging of Saridewi Djamani (Singapore's first female to be put to death since 2004), and while he avers his respect for Singapore in terms of its prosperity and stability, Elbegdorj hoped that Singapore could re-evaluate the effectiveness of using the death penalty to curb drug crimes in favour of eventual abolition, due to the death penalty not able to fully uproot the cause of drug trafficking. He also stated that with the newly elected president Tharman Shanmugaratnam taking office, he hoped that the president could affirm the presidential powers of granting clemency to those on death row to soften the government's retentionist stance on capital punishment.[137]

Law Society review[edit]

In December 2005, the Law Society revealed that it has set up a committee, named Review Committee on Capital Punishment, to examine capital punishment in the country. The 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.[138] On 6 November 2006, they were invited to give its views on proposed amendments to the Penal Code to the Ministry of Home Affairs. In their report, issued on 30 March 2007, they argued against the mandatory death penalty:

International impact of Singapore's death penalty laws[edit]

Impact on negotiations of extraditing suspects to Singapore[edit]

In 2002, Singapore tried to negotiate with Australia for the extradition of a British murder suspect and fugitive Michael McCrea, who was wanted for the double murder of a couple whose corpses were discovered abandoned in a car at Orchard Towers. However, McCrea, who was arrested in Australia, was not extradited as Australia, which abolished the death penalty for all offences by then, was not legally allowed to extradite suspects back to countries where they would face the death sentence. It was only after Singapore gave the Australian government the assurance that McCrea would not be hanged even if he was convicted of murder, which allowed McCrea to be sent back to Singapore for trial. McCrea was eventually convicted of culpable homicide and destroying evidence of a murder case, and sentenced to a total of 24 years in jail.[145] This left an impact and precedent on Singapore's avenues to successfully negotiating for extradition of suspects from countries where the death penalty or caning was not practised, including the extradition of suspected bank robber David James Roach, whom the Singapore government promised would not face caning for robbery.[146] Roach was eventually sent back to Singapore, where he later served five years in prison, and he was pardoned from caning by President Halimah Yacob.[147][148]

Impact on official debate and discussion in the United States[edit]

In 2012, a number of American elected officials and office-seekers suggested that Singapore's success in combating drug abuse should be examined as a model for the United States. Michael Bloomberg, a former Mayor of New York City, said that the United States could learn a thing or two from nations like Singapore when it came to drug trafficking, noting that "executing a handful of people saves thousands and thousands of lives."[149] The last execution in New York took place in 1963. Several courts have ruled that the death penalty violates the New York Constitution (see People v. LaValle). In 2007, the state of New York abolished the death penalty. The death penalty has been abolished in 23 states, as well as in Washington D.C., with the most recent being Virginia in 2021. However, certain states, such as Texas and Georgia, still regularly execute prisoners for aggravated murder.


Former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich repeated his longstanding advocacy for Singaporean methods in the United States' War on Drugs during campaign interviews and speeches.[150]

1965: Tan Kheng Ann (alias Robert Black) and 17 others who led the . They were found guilty of the murders of a prison officer and his three assistants, and hanged on 29 October 1965.[207][208]

Pulau Senang prison riot

1967: , a Grand Prix driver and part-time student who killed his girlfriend Jenny Cheok for her insurance during a scuba diving trip near Sisters' Islands in 1963. He was the first person in Singapore to be convicted of murder solely based on circumstantial evidence and without a body. He received a mandatory death sentence and was executed on 6 February 1967.

Sunny Ang

1968: and Harun Thohir, two Indonesian marines who carried out the 1965 MacDonald House bombing which killed three people (when Singapore was still a part of Malaysia). They were convicted of murder and hanged on 17 October 1968.

Usman bin Haji Muhammad Ali

1970: Lim Heng Soon and Low Ngah Ngah, the two Singaporeans found guilty of stabbing and killing police detective in February 1968. Both men were sentenced to hang on 30 November 1968, and after losing their appeals to the Singaporean Court of Appeal and Privy Council in London between November 1969 and March 1970, the duo were eventually hanged.

D. Munusamy

1972: Liew Kim Siong and Kee Ah Tee, the two Singaporean youths hanged in 1972 for the 1969 , where two Hongkongers were stabbed to death during the duo's robbery bid

Upper Bukit Timah factory murders

1973: Lee Chor Pet, Lim Kim Kwee and Ho Kee Fatt, the three kidnappers who were found guilty of kidnapping and murdering 19-year-old , a millionaire's son. They were hanged on 27 January 1973.

Ong Beang Leck

1973: , an Indonesian-born Singaporean and gardener who was found guilty of murdering a cook and an amah at a bungalow in Leedon Park. He was sentenced to death in September 1971, and hanged on 27 July 1973 after losing his appeal.

Osman bin Ali

1973: and her husband Sim Woh Kum, the first couple to be sentenced to death in Singapore. Both Wong and Sim were convicted of the 1970 murder of Ayako Watanabe, the wife of Wong's Japanese lover, and hanged on 27 July 1973. Wong was also the first woman to be executed for murder in Singapore since its independence.

Mimi Wong Weng Siu

1973: , a Malaysian-born stateless person found guilty of the 1969 killing of his brother's fiancée and sentenced to death in July 1970. Chow managed to appeal for a re-trial but the death sentence was reinstated in November 1971. Chow was hanged on 3 August 1973.

Chow Kim Hoong

1975: Andrew Chou Hock Guan, David Chou Hock Heng, Peter Lim Swee Guan, Alex Yau Hean Thye, Stephen Francis, Richard James, and Konesekaram Nagalingam, who were hanged on 28 February 1975 for the .[209][210][211]

Gold Bars triple murders

1975: , a Singaporean labourer found guilty of murdering a one-armed man and sentenced to death. Ismail was hanged on 28 February 1975.

Ismail bin U. K. Abdul Rahman

1975: , a Hai Lok San gang member who was hanged on 11 April 1975 for the murder of a fellow gang member.

Chelliah Silvanathan

1975: and Neoh Bean Chye, the two Malaysian gunmen found guilty of shooting and killing wine shop proprietor Chew Liew Tea and hanged on 27 June 1975.

Lim Kim Huat

1975: , a 19-year-old National Serviceman convicted of murdering his platoon commander Hor Koon Seng and hanged on 29 November 1975.

Liew Ah Chiew

1976: Pehn Kwan Jin, a Singaporean seaman who was found guilty of murdering and hanged on 16 April 1976.

Tan Eng Kim

1976: K. Vijayan Krishnan, a Malaysian labourer who was hanged on 30 April 1976 for the 1973 at Kampong Kapor.

murder of Ahora Murthi Krishnasamy

1977: , a transport company owner charged with the violent murder of his daughter's fiance Mohamed Azad Mohamed Hussein. Nadarajah was found guilty and given the death penalty in August 1975, and he was later put to death on 28 January 1977.

Nadarajah Govindasamy

1979: , a Malaysian labourer who was found guilty of murdering a road sweeper in 1976. Visuvanathan was hanged on 25 May 1979.

Visuvanathan Thillai Kannu

1979: Tay Eng Whatt, a unemployed Singaporean who was hanged on 29 June 1979 for the 1974 .

murder of Wong Thng Kiat

1980: Quek Kee Siong, a labourer who was found guilty of the rape and murder of ten-year-old and sentenced to death in March 1979. He lost his appeal in November 1980, and later hanged.

Cheng Geok Ha

1982: , a lance corporal of the Singapore Armed Forces who molested and killed his seven-year-old niece. He was sentenced to hang for murder on 27 March 1980 and lost his appeal in May 1982, and sometime afterwards, he was executed.

Kalidass Sinnathamby Narayanasamy

1982: , a hawker who was found guilty of murdering Phoon Ah Leong and Hu Yuen Keng back in 1976. After losing his appeals, Haw was hanged sometime in 1982.

Haw Tua Tau

1983: , a Singaporean charged with the murders of two men between June and October 1979. Vadivelu was sentenced to hang in March 1982 for the October 1979 murder of cigarette stall owner Mohamed Dawood Abdul Jaffar, and he was hanged on an unknown date after the loss of his appeal in January 1983. His other charge of killing Abdul Rahiman Adnan in June 1979 was withdrawn after his conviction for the Mohamed Dawood murder.

Vadivelu Kathikesan

1984: Ong Hwee Kuan, Ong Chin Hock and Yeo Ching Boon were hanged on 24 February 1984 for the robbery, kidnapping and murder of a policeman, , on 25 April 1978. The trio were also responsible for the murder of a taxi driver Chew Theng Hin on the same night Lee was killed.[212][213]

Lee Kim Lai

1986: Sim Min Teck, one of the three perpetrators of the 1980 , which he committed when he was 18. He was sentenced to death for murder in March 1985 and lost his appeal in July 1986, before he was hanged.

Jurong fishing port murders

1986: , a lorry driver who used a gardening rake to assault a 45-year-old boilerman before burning him alive, was hanged on 19 September 1986.

Ramu Annadavascan

1986: Wong Foot Ling, who was hanged on 19 September 1986 for murdering his lover

Khor Gek Hong

1988: , a jobless Singaporean who killed his adoptive niece Ong Ai Siok. He was sentenced to death in February 1986 and lost his appeal in January 1988 before he was hanged.

Lau Ah Kiang

1988: Adrian Lim, Tan Mui Choo, and Hoe Kah Hong, the three perpetrators of the 1981 , were hanged on 25 November 1988.

Toa Payoh ritual murders

1988: Sek Kim Wah, a Singaporean military conscript and serial killer who committed the 1983 and another double murder near Seletar Road, was hanged on 9 December 1988. As of 2024, Sek Kim Wah remains as Singapore's first and only serial killer to date, with 5 victims.[214][215]

Andrew Road triple murders

1990: Teo Boon Ann, a temple medium, was hanged on 20 April 1990 for the 1983 during a failed robbery attempt.

murder of Chong Kin Meng

1990: and Lim Beng Hai, the two unemployed Singaporeans and drug abusers who killed a housewife and two children to steal their money to buy drugs. Before his execution however, Tan committed suicide in May 1990, therefore Lim was alone executed on 5 October 1990.

Michael Tan Teow

1991: , a National Serviceman and army lance corporal charged with shooting his army superior to death at an army camp in July 1987. Chia was sentenced to death for murder in May 1990, and he lost his appeal in September 1991. He had been since executed.

Chia Chee Yeen

1991: Tan Cheow Bock, who was sentenced to death in 1990 for the 1980 . Tan, who was arrested in 1987, was eventually hanged after the loss of his appeal in September 1991.

murder of Chia Chun Fong

1992: , an Eurasian Singaporean found guilty of the 1984 rape and murder of 19-year-old Lim Hwee Huang. He fled to Malaysia after killing Lim, but was caught in March 1987 and hanged on 28 August 1992 after a six-day trial hearing. He was also the suspect of an unsolved double killing at Malaysia.

Hensley Anthony Neville

1992: Vasavan Sathiadew and his two Thai accomplices - Phan Khenapin and Wan Pathong - were hanged on 23 October 1992 for the .[216]

1984 murder of Frankie Tan

1992: Tan Joo Cheng, who was found guilty of the 1987 , and sentenced to hang in 1990. Tan was executed since the loss of his appeal in 1992.

murder of Lee Juay Heng

1993: Mohamed Bachu Miah and Mohamed Mahmuduzzaman Khan, the two Bangladeshi workers who were found guilty of murdering a compatriot in 1988. Both Mohamed Bachu and Mahmuduzzaman were hanged on 23 July 1993.

Mohamed Shafiqul Islam

1993: 18-year-old , a Singaporean cleaner, was charged with murdering 38-year-old Italian housewife Clementina Curci on 10 October 1990 and executed three years later on 26 November 1993.

Maksa Tohaiee

1993: , a Malaysian shipyard worker found guilty of killing his female tenant Wong Mee Hiong. Yap was sentenced to death on 10 March 1993 and lost his appeal in October 1993, and since then, he was hanged.

Yap Biew Hian

1993: Tan Bee Hock, a Singaporean who was found guilty of the and sentenced to hang on 22 March 1993.

murder of Ng Keng Hua

1993: , a Singaporean carpenter who, at age 19, murdered both his 19-year-old girlfriend Foo Chin Chin and Foo’s 18-year-old best friend Ng Lee Kheng. Ng was sentenced to death on 26 May 1993 and lost his appeal on 3 December 1993, and since then, he was hanged.

Ng Soo Hin

1993: Loh Yoon Seong, a Malaysian fitter who was found guilty of murdering an Indonesian fish merchant in 1985, and after the end of his accomplice's manslaughter trial in June 1993, Loh was hanged in an unknown date.

Nurdin Nguan Song

1993: Ithinin Kamari, who was found guilty and sentenced to hang in 1992 for the 1989 . Ithinin's appeal was dismissed in 1993, and he was hanged thereafter.

Tanglin Halt double murders

1994: Mazlan Maidun, a Singaporean who was hanged on 21 January 1994 for the 1988 in Bukit Timah.

murder of Yeu Lam Ching

1994: Yeo Watt Song, a Singaporean who was convicted of the , who was Yeo's childhood friend. He was hanged in March 1994.

murder of Ho Hon Sing

1994: Krishnan Varadan, a Malaysian found guilty of murdering during a robbery bid in 1984. After spending seven years on death row as the longest-serving death row prisoner in Singapore, Krishnan was hanged on 15 April 1994.

Packiria Pillai Krishnasamy

1994: , a Singaporean odd-job worker who killed ten-year-old schoolgirl Kuah Bee Hong during a robbery. He was found guilty and hanged on 29 July 1994.[217]

Goh Hong Choon

1994: and Ibrahim bin Masod, who were sentenced to death in 1992 for kidnapping and killing a goldsmith. Only Ibrahim was executed on 29 July 1994 while Liow died from a heart attack in August 1993 before he could be executed.[217]

Liow Han Heng

1994: , Singaporean national, hanged on 29 July 1994 for the stabbing murder of Singapore Polytechnic lecturer Tan Chin Liong during a robbery in October 1992.[217][218]

Lee Teck Sang

1994: and Yacob Rusmatullah, who were both found guilty of murdering a 78-year-old housewife and hanged on 26 August 1994.[219]

Mohamed Jaafar Abidin

1994: , an unemployed Singaporean charged with killing a 48-year-old taxi driver during a robbery. He was hanged on 16 September 1994.

Murgan Ramasamy

1994: Mohamed Sulaiman Samsudin, the perpetrator of the case who was sentenced to death in February 1994 for his crime. Sulaiman's date of execution remains unspecified.

1989 Yishun coffeeshop murder

1995: , a Singaporean carpenter who raped and murdered his childhood friend Tan Hui Ngin. He was sentenced to death on 1 December 1993, and lost his appeal two years later in 1995, and was hanged afterwards.

Lim Lye Hock

1995: , a Filipina domestic worker hanged on 17 March 1995 for murdering another Filipino domestic worker and a four-year-old boy.

Flor Contemplacion

1995: Chin Seow Noi, Chin's younger brother Chin Yaw Kim and Yaw Kim's friend Ng Kim Heng, the three Malaysians who were hanged on 31 March 1995 for the in January 1989.

murder of Lim Lee Tin

1995: Kumar Nadison, Jabar Kadermastan and Chandran Gangatharan, the three Malaysians who were found guilty of murdering a ice factory worker during a revenge attack in 1985. The trio were hanged ten years later on 28 April 1995.

Samynathan Pawathai

1995: Oh Laye Koh, a Singaporean and former school bus driver who was hanged on 19 May 1995 for the 1989 , a 17-year-old Malaysian schoolgirl. He was also the suspected killer of 18-year-old lounge waitress Norhayah binti Mohamed Ali back in 1982.

murder of Liang Shan Shan

1995: , an Indian businessman who murdered his friend for allegedly being refused by the victim to share a prostitute. He was hanged on 2 June 1995.

Jahabar Bagurudeen

1995: and Junalis Lumat, the two taxi robbers who killed taxi driver Teo Kim Hock during a robbery and hanged on 16 June 1995. Junalis was also responsible for killing another taxi driver Seing Koo Wan.

Mohamad Ashiek Salleh

1995: , a Singaporean who was 37 years old and jobless, was found guilty of killing a moneylender Sim Ah Lek and hanged on 16 June 1995.

Phua Soy Boon

1995: , a Singaporean national, hanged on 7 July 1995 for the murder of Sivapragasam Subramaniam during a gang fight between the Ang Soon Tong triad and the Gi Leng Hor secret society at Marsiling in 1990.[220]

Sagar Suppiah Retnam

1995: , a Singaporean national and Gi Leng Kiat secret society member, hanged on 7 July 1995 for the murder of Thampusamy Murugian Gunasekaran in Little India after mistaking him for a rival gang member in 1993.[220]

Anbuarsu Joseph

1995: , a Singaporean repairman who killed his two neighbours after robbing them. He was hanged on 28 July 1995.

Jamaludin Ibrahim

1995: and S. S. Asokan, the two Singaporeans and security guards who used an axe and knife to murder 32-year-old Tan Heng Hong in 1992 before burning his corpse inside the car. Maniam and Asokan were found guilty of murder and hanged on 8 September 1995.

Maniam Rathinswamy

1995: , a 22-year-old Singaporean drug addict who robbed and murdered a 80-year-old woman inside a lift at Bedok North in 1994. He was convicted and hanged seven months later on 29 September 1995.

Indra Wijaya bin Ibrahim

1996: , Prawit Yaowabutr, Manit Wangjaisuk, Panya Amphawa, and Prasong Bunsom, all citizens of Thailand, hanged on 15 March 1996 for the murders of three men during an island-wide spree of construction site robberies between November 1992 and September 1993.[221]

Panya Marmontree

1996: , a British spree killer hanged on 19 April 1996 for murdering three tourists.

John Martin Scripps

1996: , a 29-year-old Singaporean who used an axe to murder 47-year-old police officer Boo Tiang Huat. He was convicted for murder and hanged on 30 August 1996.[222]

Zainal Abidin Abdul Malik

1996: , a Singaporean national, hanged on 30 August 1996 for stabbing fellow prostitute and Malaysian Ching Bee Ing to death at the Teck Lim Road brothel they both worked for in 1995.[223]

Teo Kim Hong

1996: , a Thai welder who was found guilty of murdering his friend Suk Malasri in June 1995 and sentenced to death. Thongbai was hanged on 30 August 1996.

Thongbai Naklangdon

1997: , a Thai illegal worker, was hanged on 10 January 1997 for the 1995 murder of Lee Kok Yin, a 47-year-old taxi driver.[224]

Pracha Thanomnin

1997: Khampun Sriyotha and Samlee Prathumtree, the two Thai workers found guilty of murdering their fellow countryman during a sledgehammer attack, and hanged on 4 July 1997.

Somwang Yapapha

1998: were hanged on 29 May 1998 for the 1996 murder of a gangster.

Asogan Ramesh Ramachandren and Selvar Kumar Silvaras

1998: , a former army sergeant who killed his sister-in-law and slashed his nephew. He was sentenced to death for murder in April 1997 and lost his appeal in February 1998.

Jimmy Chua Hwa Soon

1998: , a jobless Singaporean who killed an Indonesian businessman. Sim received the death sentence in May 1998 and lost his appeal in August 1998, before he was hanged.

Sim Eng Teck

1998: , a Malaysian male prostitute who, at age 18, murdered his 65-year-old Singaporean employer and brothel owner Philip Low Cheng Quee in June 1997. Lim was found guilty of murder and executed on 23 October 1998.

Lim Chin Chong

1999: , a prostitute who was hanged on 26 February 1999 together with two men - Nazar Mohamed Kassim and Mansoor Abdullah - for stabbing her landlady, 53-year-old Sivapackiam Veerappan Rengasamy in March 1997. Prior to her execution, Gerardine's sentence was initially eight years' imprisonment for manslaughter before the Court of Appeal found her guilty of murder in September 1998 and modified her jail term to death.

Gerardine Andrew

1999: , a Malaysian and nephew of the Sultan of Kedah who was sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of Sally Poh Bee Eng and theft of her Rolex watch. He lost his appeal in February 1999, and afterwards, he was hanged.

Jonaris Badlishah

1999: Too Yin Sheong, one of the three perpetrators responsible for the 1993 , a university professor. Too was hanged on 30 April 1999. Another accomplice Lee Chez Kee was caught and hanged sometime in 2008, while a third named Ng Chek Siong was jailed eight years and received ten strokes of the cane for a reduced robbery charge.

murder of Lee Kok Cheong

1999: Both Shaiful Edham bin Adam and Norishyam s/o Mohamed Ali were hanged on 2 July 1999 for the 1998 murder of a Bulgarian student named .

Iordanka Apostolova

1999: , a Singaporean lorry driver found guilty of murdering a prison warden and put to death on 23 July 1999.

S. Nagarajan Kuppusamy

2000: , a fishmonger who was hanged on 1 September 2000 for the robbery and murder of his 50-year-old friend and fruit stall helper Lily Tan Eng Yan.

Lau Lee Peng

2000: , a Singaporean cleaner found guilty of murdering his former girlfriend in August 1998. He was hanged on 15 September 2000.

Chan Chim Yee

2000 or 2001: , a Malaysian who was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Koh Mew Chin. He was sentenced to hang in January 2000 and lost his appeal in May 2000. He was hanged either in late 2000 or early 2001.

Chan Choon Wai

2001: Julaiha Begum, her lover Loganatha Venkatesan and Venkatesan's friend Chandran Rajagopal, were hanged on 16 February 2001 for the murder of Julaiha's husband .

T. Maniam

2001: Seah Kok Meng, a Singaporean found guilty of the 1999 , and sentenced to death in November 2000. Seah was hanged on 30 November 2001.

murder of S. Salim Ahmad

2002: Khwan-On Natthaphon, a Thai carpenter found guilty of the , a 65-year-old taxi driver whom Khwan-On killed in June 2000. Khwan-On was hanged on 27 September 2002.

murder of Ong Huay Dee

2002: Three men - Rosli bin Ahmat, Wan Kamil bin Mohamed Shafian, and Ibrahim bin Mohamed - were executed on 25 October 2002 for the August 2000 at Chestnut Avenue and Jalan Kukoh respectively.

murders of Koh Ngiap Yong and Jahabar Sathick

2002: was hanged on 13 December 2002 for hiring a teenager to murder his wife.[225]

Anthony Ler Wee Teang

2003: Kanesan Ratnam, a prisoner who killed his cellmate by strangulation at Queenstown Remand Prison. Kanesan, who was in remand for a charge of rape, was sentenced to death and later hanged on 10 January 2003.

Shankar Suppiahmaniam

2003: Dornchinnamat Yingyos, Thongthot Yordsa-Art and Seethong Phichet, three of the six Thai workers responsible for the back in June 2001. All three men were found guilty of murder and later put to death on 21 February 2003.

murder of Saenphan Thawan

2003: Arun Prakash Vaithilingam, an Indian ship electrician who was found guilty of murdering his roommate , and hanged on 3 October 2003

Lourdusamy Lenin Selvanayagan

2004: , a Chinese national and cleaner who was found guilty of murdering his roommate Wang Hong in 2002. Jin was hanged on 19 March 2004.

Jin Yugang

2004: , a jobless Singaporean found guilty of murdering a six-month-old Indonesian baby girl after he raped her. He was hanged on 21 May 2004.

Soosainathan Dass Saminathan

2004: , a Malaysian hanged on 11 June 2004 for the rape and murder of a Thai housewife in Chai Chee.

Tan Chee Wee

2005: Zailani bin Ahmad, a Singaporean technician found guilty of the 2003 and sentenced to death in March 2004. He also lost his appeal in November 2004, and he had since been hanged.

murder of Chi Tue Tiong

2005: , alias Lee Cheng Thiam, a Singaporean hanged on 21 April 2005 for murdering his girlfriend Diana Teo Siew Peng by pushing her off the tenth storey of her residential block

Harith Gary Lee

2006: and Lim Poh Lye, two of the three robbers who were apprehended for the murder of Bock Tuan Thong, a scrap car dealer. Koh and Lim were initially jailed and caned for robbery with hurt but their sentences were commuted to death for murder after the prosecution appealed. Both Koh and Lim were hanged on 28 April 2006.

Tony Koh Zhan Quan

2006: Took Leng How, a Malaysian hanged on 3 November 2006 for the .

2004 murder of an eight-year-old girl

2007: , a factory supervisor who killed his lover Liu Hong Mei. He was hanged on 30 November 2007.[226]

Leong Siew Chor

2008: Lee Chez Kee, one of the three perpetrators responsible for the 1993 , a university professor. Lee was caught in 2006 and sentenced to hang in 2008. One of his accomplices Too Yin Sheong was caught and hanged in April 1999, while a third named Ng Chek Siong was jailed eight years and received ten strokes of the cane for a reduced robbery charge.

murder of Lee Kok Cheong

2008: Mohammed Ali bin Johari was hanged on 19 December 2008 for the .[227]

2006 rape and murder of his stepdaughter

2008: Abdul Malik bin Usman, Kamal bin Kupli and Hamir Hasim, the three Malaysians found guilty of during a robbery. They were sentenced to death in February 2007 and lost their appeals in February 2008, and were executed later that same year.

murdering a Myanmar worker Thein Naing

2011: Tharema Vejayan Govindasamy, the perpetrator of the 2007 case, which involved him killing his former wife. Tharema was sentenced to hang in May 2009, and lost his appeal in September 2010, and he was eventually hanged sometime in 2011.

Stirling Road murder

2011: , a Singaporean sentenced to death for murdering a lorry driver during a S$1.3 million mobile phone heist. His date of death was 8 July 2011.

Nakamuthu Balakrishnan

2014: , a Chinese national sentenced to death in 2012 for the 2008 Yishun triple murders. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal in 2014.

Wang Zhijian

2015: Iskandar bin Rahmat, a former police officer sentenced to death in December 2015 for the 2013 . As of May 2021, Iskandar is still awaiting execution.[228][229]

Kovan double murders

2015: , an odd-job labourer charged with knifing a 69-year-old housewife 110 times and therefore killed her during a robbery in 2005. He was hanged ten years later on 17 April 2015.

Muhammad Kadar

2016: , a Malaysian hanged on 20 May 2016 for the 2008 robbery and murder of a construction worker.

Kho Jabing

2018: and Ramzan Rizwan, the two Pakistani tissue sellers who killed their 59-year-old roommate Muhammad Noor by smothering. Both were found guilty and sentenced to death in February 2017 and lost their appeals on 28 September 2017. They were hanged sometime in 2018.

Rasheed Muhammad

2018: , a Singaporean businessman who murdered his wife's 37-year-old lover Dexmon Chua Yizhi. His life sentence was commuted to a death sentence by the Court of Appeal of Singapore after the prosecution appealed on 27 June 2018.

Chia Kee Chen

2019: , a Malaysian hanged on 22 March 2019 for the murder of a construction worker during a series of armed robberies in 2010.[230]

Micheal Anak Garing

2020: Teo Ghim Heng, a former property agent who was sentenced to death for killing his wife and their daughter in 2017, which became known as the .[231][232][233]

Woodlands double murders

2024: , a Bangladeshi painter found guilty of murdering his Indonesian girlfriend Nurhidayati Wartono Surata back in 2018. Ahmed was hanged on 28 February 2024.

Ahmed Salim

1978: Mohamad Kunjo s/o Ramalan, a Singaporean convicted of murdering a lorry driver in 1975 and sentenced to death in 1976. After losing his appeals against his sentence over the next two years, he filed for clemency, which was granted by President in 1978. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.[350][351]

Benjamin Sheares

1980: Bobby Chung Hua Watt, a Singaporean convicted of murdering his brother-in-law's brother in 1975. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. After losing his appeal against his death sentence, he was initially scheduled to be executed on 18 January 1980. However, on 15 January 1980, President granted him clemency and his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was released from prison in 1993 for good behaviour after serving at least two-thirds of his life sentence.[352][353][351]

Benjamin Sheares

1983: Siti Aminah binte Jaffar, a Singaporean convicted of drug trafficking in 1977 and sentenced to death in 1978 along with her lover, Anwar Ali Khan. The two of them appealed to President for clemency in 1983. Anwar's plea was rejected and he was executed, but Siti's was accepted and she had her death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.[354][355][351]

Devan Nair

1993: , a Singaporean convicted of drug trafficking in 1985 and sentenced to death in 1988 along with her two accomplices. President Wee Kim Wee accepted her plea for clemency in 1992 and her death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment; her two accomplices, however, were executed in 1992. While serving her life sentence, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1993 and had at most a year to live. She appealed to President Ong Teng Cheong for clemency so that she could be released in order to spend the final moments of her life with her family. The President accepted the petition, and she was released on 16 February 1995 and eventually died on 30 March that year.[356][351]

Sim Ah Cheoh

1992: , a Singaporean who killed a man who assaulted his foster father in 1988. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1990. He lost his appeal against his death sentence in 1991 but was eventually granted clemency by President Wee Kim Wee on 13 May 1992 (two days before he was scheduled to be executed) and had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment. He was released from prison in September 2005 for good behaviour after serving at least two-thirds of his life sentence.[357][351]

Koh Swee Beng

1998: , a Singaporean convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1996 along with his two friends. After losing their appeals in 1997, the three of them petitioned to President Ong Teng Cheong for clemency in 1998. The President accepted only Mathavakannan's plea so his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment; the other two had their pleas rejected and were subsequently executed. Mathavakannan was eventually released in 2012 after spending about 16 years in prison. As of 2024, Mathavakannan Kalimuthu remains as the last death row inmate who was spared the gallows through a presidential pardon.[358][359][360]

Mathavakannan Kalimuthu

In popular culture[edit]

In 2016, Singaporean director Boo Junfeng directed and released a film titled Apprentice, starring Firdaus Rahman and Wan Hanafi Su. The film, which narrates the fictional story of newly appointed prison officer and executioner Aiman Yusof, touched on the subject of the death penalty in Singapore and an executioner's perspective of the practice, as well as the experiences and ostracisation of the families when their loved ones were tried and executed. The director also revealed that he had gathered information through interviews of the retired executioners, imams and priests who counselled the death row inmates, and also the families of the executed prisoners while producing the film. The film, which was released in several international film festivals, was met with positive public responses and it attracted both nominations and awards for the director and production team.[361][362][363][364]


In Singapore, there were local crime shows like In Cold Blood, Crimewatch, and True Files which re-enact the real-life crimes in Singapore. Among these cases, there were murder and drug trafficking cases which attract the death penalty in the city-state. Often, the re-enactments of these capital cases would also show the final verdicts of the convicts, where it revealed the dates of their sentencing and/or executions. Notably, executed criminals like English serial killer John Martin Scripps,[365] child killer Adrian Lim,[366] notorious wife-killer Anthony Ler[367][368] and cop-killer Zainal Abidin Abdul Malik featured in these re-enactment shows since the 1980s till the present.[369]

Crime in Singapore

Law of Singapore

Life imprisonment in Singapore

List of major crimes in Singapore

Aglionby, John (8 May 2005). . The Observer. London. Retrieved 28 April 2010.

"Singapore finally finds a voice in death row protest"

. Reuters. 12 April 2002. Archived from the original on 2 September 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2005.

"Singapore death penalty shrouded in silence"

. Agence France-Presse. 21 November 2005.

"Singapore clings to death penalty"

from Amnesty International

Singapore — The death penalty: A hidden toll of executions

from 30 January 2004

The Singapore Government's Response To Amnesty International's Report

monitors the death penalty in Asia, including in Singapore

Asia Death Penalty

Academic research database on the laws, practice, and statistics of capital punishment for every death penalty country in the world.

Singapore: Death Penalty Worldwide