Once a Jolly Hangman

Copyright © 2010 Alan Shadrake

Published in 2010 by

Strategic Information and Research Development Centre No 11, Lorong 11/4E, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

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[email protected]

Website:
www.gerakbudaya.com

First impression, May 2010

Second impression, August 2010

Third impression, August 2010

Fourth impression, October 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Shadrake, Alan

Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore justice in the dock / Alan Shadrake.

1.
             
Justice, Administration of-Singapore.

2.
             
Law-Political aspects-Singapore.

3.
             
Singapore-Politics and government. I. Title. 347.5957013

ISBN 978-967-5832-00-0

Cover design and layout by Janice Cheong

Printed by Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd 2,

Jalan Meranti Permai 1,

Meranti Permai Industrial Park,

Batu 15, Jalan Puchong,

47100 Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia.

Preface

It was never my intention to go to Singapore and write a book about its revered but much feared chief executioner or its justice system. I was invited by the Singapore Tourism Board and a glossy magazine in California to write a travel feature to tempt Americans to visit the city state. Writing about its bird park, night safari, orchid garden, the legend of the Merlion and historic hotels like The Raffles or The Fullerton was not my usual sphere of interest. The trip lasted only a week but, having an inquiring mind well outside my minders box, I soon had a feeling that I would never discover the true nature of this bland, authoritarian nation from a controlled tour like this. Reading its biggest daily, The Straits Times - which I discovered was mockingly called 'The Straits Jacket' - confirmed my thinking. It all appeared a little too clean, too efficient and just too damned perfect for my liking. It all reminded me of the Hollywood movie The Stepford Wives, about a town in upstate New York where everything was blissfully controlled - especially the beautifully turned out, seemingly perfect, clockwork women. Or a meal dreamed up by a chef who had forgotten to add the salt.

I soon began quietly delving into the background of what became known as the Orchard Towers Murders. There were two suspects: a British millionaire financial adviser and his Chinese girlfriend who fled to Britain and then Australia. Around the same time, a young man named Nguyen Van Tuong, an Australian citizen, was about to go on trial and inevitably end up on death row for heroin trafficking. His execution was to stir anti-death penalty campaigners across Australia and threaten a major rift with Singapore. Some months later I decided to return and keep tabs on both these cases. An interview with Singapore's hangman who had been chief executioner for almost 50 years since colonial days was on my mind. It was a daunting task.

But after months of relentless sleuthing I managed to find the man who had hanged an estimated 1,000 men and women mainly for murder and drug trafficking - and surprisingly get him to talk. It led to a meticulous search of legal files and archived cases going back to 1963 while interviewing abolitionists and lawyers involved in many sensational cases that largely went under-reported or not reported at all. The result is a unique glimpse into the deadly career of arguably the most prolific executioner in the world - a man who believes he has helped keep Singapore one of the safest places in the world. And something else. Something sinister: how the Singapore legal system works in secret and how politics, international trade and business often determine who lives and who dies on the gallows.

This book would never have been completed without the invaluable help of many people. Perhaps the most important are some of Singapore's own human rights activists and abolitionists. There aren't many of them but their numbers are growing. These few brave men and women often met me in secret with a nugget of priceless information to help me unearth yet another hidden legal scandal relating to someone's demise on the gallows. They helped expose this nightmare account of what the authorities were afraid
would leak out and damage Singapore's glitzy, squeaky clean image. Unfortunately, as I promised, I cannot name all of them. To reveal their names would mean jeopardising their futures at the hands the Singaporean government which cannot tolerate any kind of dissent or criticism. They could lose their jobs or even end up in prison - as many have done and still do all too frequently For those who insisted I never reveal their names for fear of retribution can sleep peacefully. One top lawyer, after an important secret meeting, looked into my eyes and said: 'I don't know you. You don't know me. Never contact me again!' Then he walked away We have never met or spoken to each other since.

There are others I cannot name, including two former officers of the Central Narcotics Bureau, but wish I could. As promised they must remain anonymous as far as this book is concerned. But let's hope that one day in the not too distant future their names will be revealed and honoured. Some are parents of young children and I would not wish to endanger their livelihood, liberty or futures in the way many other dissidents and opponents of the government have been so appallingly

treated over the years. Although she might have suspected what I was doing but did not know for sure, I must also thank an anonymous librarian at the National Library in Singapore, who helped me delve into archived records that laid the foundation for the eventual completion of this book.

And then there are those I can name and do so proudly. Firstly, I would like to thank a rare young man with real guts - the lawyer M. Ravi, a stalwart human rights campaigner and activist, who fought three long battles to try to save the lives of three young men from Singapore, Malaysia and Nigeria and as a result became one of the most vilified citizens. He should be recognised as a hero and I would like to see his name one day on one of the streets running alongside the new Supreme Court: M. Ravi Avenue. Although I met him only once shortly before his death, I would like to thank one of Singapore's most illustrious human rights activists, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, or JBJ as he was affectionately known to his friends and supporters. Reading accounts of his fight for justice and decency during his entire lifetime inspired me to continue this quest. His brave, gutsy stance should also put his name on the list of Singapore's real heroes and another auspicious street. And then there is Alex Au, whom I first discovered on the internet via his blog, 'Yawning Bread', then in person for several important interviews. He is another fearless fighter for human rights and his lucid commentaries were a stunning revelation to me - and no doubt his sharp jabs at the system cause much pain to the authorities in Singapore. I would also like to thank Dr Chee Juan Soon, who has bravely gone toe-to-toe challenging Lee Kuan Yew for more than a decade and has been imprisoned, fined or made bankrupt for his efforts to bring about peaceful, democratic change in Singapore. He will never be defeated. No matter how many times he is sent to jail or made bankrupt he will always stand on the moral high ground also bravely supported by his sister Siok Chin and his wife, Mae. And then there is the irrepressible lawyer Gopalan Nair, whom I am also proud to know personally, who emigrated to the United States and became an American citizen. He regularly attacks the People's Action Party in his blog 'Singapore Dissident' from
California, and was arrested when he returned briefly in 2008, charged and jailed with insulting a public servant.

Two families of loved ones who were hanged on questionable evidence by a corrupt police officer agreed to cooperate with me to add even more devastating information to this book. Vasu Mourthi, his wife and three daughters welcomed me to their home in Ipoh, Malaysia, and talked about Vignes Mourthi, a loving son and brother. All of them decent, hard-working people, their lives were shattered by what happened to Vignes and no doubt they will grieve his loss forever. The citizens of Singapore might possibly have all hung their heads in shame had they known the full circumstances of this young man's brutal end carried out in their name. The same goes for the family of Shanmugam Murugesu - his mother Letchumi Amah and his twin sons she helped raise in Jurong West, Singapore. She and his brave youngsters did not hesitate to attend protest forums for many others who ended up on death row after their personal bereavement.

A Dutch social worker, Guus van Bladel, a permanent resident of Singapore at the time of Maria Krol-Hmelak's arrest and trial, was appointed her counsellor and allowed to visit her on a regular basis throughout her incarceration. He kept a diary of events, invited me to his home in Malacca and allowed me to record many piquant details of events that took place in the courtroom and even in her cell.

It was Margaret John of Amnesty International who fed me with endless, extremely useful information and then, amazingly, connected me with the independent Malaysian publisher SIRD as the perfect vehicle for this book. Its director, Chong Ton Sin, is a dedicated campaigner for human rights and a stalwart abolitionist and met my proposal with great enthusiasm. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for bravely taking me on. I must also thank SIRD's editor, Ismail Gareth Richards, who patiently guided me through many literary and political minefields, kept me on track, constantly looked over my shoulder and corrected me in the nicest way possible when I had got it wrong. Janice Cheong, SIRD's talented designer, undertook the layout with patience and good humour and designed the splendid book cover.

Last but by no means least - and strange as it may seem to many - I will be forever grateful for the kindness and hospitality of the star' of this book, Darshan Singh, executioner extraordinaire. To those who do not know him he is not the grim reaper of fantasy but a very likeable, down-to-earth man - like any other kindly father and grandfather.

Although his calling was to kill people, he did not do so callously but with gentle kindness and concern. I came to like him quite a lot but not for what he did when he was master of the gallows.

Alan Shadrake

Kuala Lumpur, 15 April 2010

Foreword

Alan Shadrake's book, Once a Jolly Hangman, is a timely contribution to growing criticism of Singapore's shameful use of the death penalty. Once dubbed by The Economist as the world execution capital, Singapore is believed still to have one of the highest per capita rates of execution of any country worldwide, thus remaining totally out of step in the move regionally and internationally towards a death penalty-free world. A historic momentum is building from which Singapore chooses to exclude itself.

Executions are no longer a matter exclusively internal to an individual country's criminal justice system. Executions are now squarely an international issue. A small but growing anti-death penalty group of Singaporeans along with international organisations are gaining an effective voice. Standards have now been set by the United Nations. The UN's 2008 resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions as a step towards total abolition has been heeded by an increasing number of countries. Not so by Singapore, however. Over 420 people have been executed there since 1991, mostly for drug trafficking, for which there is a mandatory death sentence. A number of countries have mounted protests against the execution of their nationals in Singapore and cases have been raised at the highest level. The worldwide anti-death penalty campaign will not be deterred. Moreover, the struggle against executions also highlights Singapore's other human rights realities: the difficulties of acting in opposition to policies generally of the ruling People's Action Party, which has been in power over half a century; government control of the media and civil society organisations, thus curbing public debate and limiting independent monitoring of human rights; and restrictions on cause- related demonstrations.