Issuance of Correction Direction and Targeted Correction Direction Under the POFMA Regarding Statement by the Transformative Justice Collective on 6 August 2024 Concerning the Treatment of Prisoners Awaiting Capital Punishment

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs is aware of the following publications that contain false statements of fact concerning the treatment of prisoners awaiting capital punishment (“PACPs”):

(a) Transformative Justice Collective’s (“TJC”) Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) posts on 6 August 2024 (“TJC’s FB, IG and X posts”); and

(b) Julie O’Connor’s LinkedIn post on 6 August 2024.

Falsehoods

2. The posts make the following false statements:

(a) The executions of two Singaporean death row prisoners on 2 and 7 August 2024 were scheduled without regard for due legal process.

(b) The State uses capital punishment to arbitrarily decide whether people live or die.

Facts

All PACPs Are Afforded Due Legal Process

3. An earlier

press release dated 8 August 2024

made clear that an execution will only be scheduled when a PACP has exhausted all rights of appeal and the clemency process. This is the case for all PACPs, including the PACPs referred to in TJC’s posts.

4. In respect of the PACP executed on 2 August 2024, an earlier press release and Factually article, both dated 8 August 2024, have detailed the relevant facts relating to him, in particular, that he was afforded due legal process.

5. As for the PACP executed on 7 August 2024 (“2nd PACP”), he was convicted for having in his possession 35.85 grammes of diamorphine (pure heroin) for the purpose of trafficking. This is more than two times the capital sentence threshold stipulated in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973, and would have been sufficient to feed the addiction of about 430 abusers for a week.

6. The 2nd PACP was similarly afforded due legal process. He was arrested on 24 October 2017 and underwent trial in the High Court in 2019 and 2021. The High Court considered the evidence adduced at trial and the arguments put forth by the Prosecution and the 2nd PACP’s lawyers. He was convicted after the trial and was sentenced to death on 10 August 2021. His appeal against his conviction and sentence was dismissed by the Court of Appeal (“CA”) on 11 May 2022.

7. The 2nd PACP’s application for clemency was denied by the President on 14 October 2022 and again on 22 November 2022 (when another clemency petition was submitted on his behalf).

8. On 3 December 2022, the 2nd PACP filed a legal application for permission to review the CA’s decision to dismiss his appeal against his conviction and sentence. This application was summarily dismissed by the CA on 28 February 2023.

9. The 2nd PACP was also a joint applicant with other PACPs in one other legal application which was dismissed by the CA on 27 March 2024. The CA found that the application amounted to an abuse of the court’s process.

10. On 31 July 2024, the 2nd PACP was given notice that his execution was to take place on 7 August 2024. As at the date of the execution notice, the 2nd PACP had one pending civil appeal (jointly with other PACPs).

11. On 5 August 2024, the 2nd PACP filed a Notice of Withdrawal of Appeal in respect of the civil appeal, which was accepted on the same day by the Court. As such, there were no ongoing legal proceedings involving the 2nd PACP when his execution was carried out on 7 August 2024.

12. It is therefore false and misleading to suggest that the executions of the Singaporean death row prisoners on 2 and 7 August 2024 were scheduled without regard for due legal process.

Singapore’s Legal System and Support for the Death Penalty

13. All laws in Singapore, including those relating to the death penalty, are considered and enacted by the Legislature (consisting of the Parliament and the President), according to proper legal process. Any law that is sought to be introduced or amended, must go through the Parliamentary process and be assented to by the President, before it becomes law. Our laws are not made arbitrarily.

14. The criminal justice system in Singapore requires every accused person facing a capital charge to go through a full trial, where evidence is considered by the Court before it decides whether to convict the accused person and impose the capital sentence.

15. All persons in Singapore are subject to the law. If they choose to traffic drugs, they will face the penalty according to the law. This penalty is the death sentence if they traffic drugs in quantities above the capital sentence threshold.

16. Our laws are not enforced arbitrarily.

17. The Government takes a serious view of the deliberate communication of falsehoods. The Minister for Home Affairs has instructed the POFMA Office to issue a Correction Direction to TJC; and for a Targeted Correction Direction to be issued to Linkedln. TJC will be required to carry correction notices alongside its Facebook, Instagram and X posts. Linkedln will also be required to place a correction notice on the Linkedln post by Julie O’Connor.

18. This is the second correction direction issued to TJC in a matter of days for making false statements relating to the treatment of PACPs.

19. The Factually article “Corrections regarding false statements concerning treatment of PACPs made on 6 August 2024” can be found on this URL:

https://www.gov.sg/article/factually110824

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