Tracing the history of the anti-death penalty movements in Singapore

• Main Authors: CHIA, Priscilla, ZENG, Rachel, TAY, Audrey, KOH, Shi Min
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2017
• Subjects: Singapore; history; capital punishment; Asian Studies; Human Rights Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/2053; https://search.library.smu.edu.sg/permalink/65SMU_INST/1kfjump/alma99215812702601
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Singapore makes for an interesting case study on capital punishment. The death penalty is mainly imposed for murder and drug offences in Singapore. In the early decades of independence, the Anti-Death Penalty Movement (ADPM) existed largely on the fringes of society but was led by prominent individuals such as David Marshall and Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam. In the early days of Singapore, organisations and individuals who were perceived as threats to the state could be detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), and mass security operations such as Operation Coldstore in 1963 resulted in the detention of over 100 trade unionists and left-wing politicians. In the 1990s, a rare case placed Singapore under an intense international spotlight: the conviction and eventual execution of Flor Contemplacion. The rise of the Internet and social media in the early 2000s improved the public's access to information and provided a platform for individuals to share their thoughts, beliefs and opinions.