PETALING JAYA: The Singapore government has rejected allegations of brutal extra-legal execution methods at the Changi Prison, calling them “scurrilous” and an attention-seeking stunt by Lawyers of Liberty (LF) who made the claims last week.
“LFL has been publishing various falsehoods to seek attention in hopes of getting Malaysian prisoners, who have been convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death in Singapore, off the death penalty.
“Those who traffic drugs in Singapore, harm and destroy the lives of countless Singaporeans. These traffickers must be prepared to face the consequences of their actions,” the home ministry said in a statement.
LFL, a vocal opponent of Singapore’s death penalty in the wake of a series of hangings carried out on Malaysians convicted of drug offences in the republic, had claimed it received evidence of brutal execution methods by prison guards in the event the hanging procedure fails during an execution.
In a statement on Jan 16, LFL’s N Surendran said whenever the rope breaks during a hanging, a prison officer would pull the rope around the neck of the prisoner towards him.
“Meanwhile, another prison officer will apply pressure by pulling the body in the opposite direction.”
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