Amnesty International Report 1995 - Singapore

Two former prisoners of conscience continued to be subject to government orders restricting their freedom of expression and association. Criminal offenders were subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. At least 10 people were sentenced to death and 32 were executed. Restriction orders limiting freedom of association and expression continued to be imposed on Chia Thye Poh and Vincent Cheng, two former prisoners of conscience (see Amnesty International Reports 1991 to 1994). Caning, which constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading form of punishment, remained a mandatory punishment for some 30 crimes, including armed robbery, attempted murder, drug-trafficking, illegal immigration and rape. In May Michael Fay, a teenager from the USA who was convicted of several charges of vandalism, was given four strokes of the cane in addition to a four-month prison sentence and a fine. In September Ramanathan Yogendran, a lawyer, was sentenced to 12 strokes of the cane and five years' imprisonment after he was convicted of five criminal offences including fabricating evidence and criminal intimidation. At least 10 people were sentenced to death, of whom eight were convicted of drug-trafficking and two of murder. They included Sagar Suppiah Retnam, a labourer, who was sentenced to death in May for murder. Navarat Maykha, a Thai woman, was sentenced to death in July for drug-trafficking. At least 32 people were executed. Yeo Choon Chau, Lai Kim Loy, Tee Seh Ping, Hanafiah Bedullah and Mat Repin Mamat, all Malaysian nationals, were executed by hanging on 13 May at Changi prison. All had been sentenced to death for drug-trafficking. Yeo Poh Choon was also executed on 13 May: he had been sentenced to death in September 1993 by the Court of Criminal Appeal despite having been acquitted in July 1993 by the High Court. Amnesty International urged the authorities to lift the restrictions on the two former prisoners of conscience. It also urged the authorities to end the punishment of caning and to commute all death sentences.