25 years ago this month, 65 year-old Ang Chye was stabbed to death at a coffeeshop at Blk 780 Yishun Ring Road. The police was unable to find any evidence except for several smudged fingerprints which did not match any of the 3 suspects.
At the same time, the prosecution was not able to provide any physical evidence except for a confession from one Zainal Kuning and circumstantial evidence: Zainal was a manual laborer in need of money while the killing seemed to be a robbery gone wrong.
At the initial trial, Zainal claimed that the confession was extracted from him by the police using means of torture. Such allegations of torture include: carrying telephone directories non-stop for more than 14 hours and being forced to stand under an air-conditioner at full blast immediately after taking a shower.
Such claims of police abuse happen all the time – even today – in the course of criminal cases but are generally ignored by the courts. Notwithstanding such a claim, Justice Sinnathuray ruled that the confession was admissible and Zainal’s fate seemed to be sealed with the death penalty pending further action.
What unfolded latter seemed to be a god-send. While in remand, one of Zainal’s fellow inmates had heard gossip from other prisoners on how one ‘Man Semput’ boasting to have killed Ang Chye. The gossip also added that Man Semput had scars on his chest as a result of a struggle with Ang Chye involving boiling water.
Zainal later related this incident to his lawyer – J B Jeyaretnam – who was unable to find any evidence of it despite his attempts. After Zainal’s trial began in 1992, the police managed to locate one Mohd Sulaiman, whose identity was later confirmed as Man Semput.
Upon further investigations, the prosecution applied for Zainal’s charges to be “stayed” under Section 193 of the criminal procedure code. In effect, this meant that the charges against Zainal were to be suspended and he was to be discharged.
Jeyaretnam objected to this, arguing that Zainal should be fully acquitted instead. The judge accepted this submissions.
Mohd Sulaiman was later arrested and subsequently found guilty of murder in 1994 and hanged accordingly.
As a result of his alleged abuse and 3 years of imprisonment, Zainal later sued the Singapore government in 1996 alleging false arrest and malicious prosecution but his case was dismissed with costs.
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Singapore’s method of execution is anything but civilised. The convict’s family would only be notified of his death only at the last minute (usually the week before) while the means – the long-hang method – is both out-dated and gruesome.
Based on the convict’s mass, the prisons would then determine the length of rope to be used. This length of rope would then be hung round the convict’s neck while he stood above the trapdoors, which would then be opened mechanically at precisely 6am.
The convict would fall through the trapdoors by a height of almost 1.5 to 2.5 meters, causing his spine to fracture. His blood pressure would fall to zero almost instantaneously and thus knocking him out. He would then be strangled by his own weight and the process would be over in half an hour.
Joseph Kheng-Liang Tan
*The author is a 21 year-old polytechnic graduate who is currently pursuing his law degree in Australia. Widely quoted for his views, he has contributed extensively in his personal capacity to top socio-political sites such as TRS and TRE. He is also supremely homophobic and would rather vote for the PAP should the opposition send in a homosexual representative.