I feel like there's a lot I would like to write and say, only I'm too tired to do it right now...
(1)
K Shanmugam, Singapore's minister for home affairs and law, believes in "a second chance at life" and creating "a kinder and safer world"—for animals, that is. The day after he posted a fluffy positive-PR-vibes-only Facebook post with his three adopted pups, Singapore hanged 48-year-old Mohammad Azwan Bin Bohari for a non-violent drug offence. Although Azwan was still party to an ongoing proceeding, relating to the constitutionality of the Post-Appeal Applications in Capital Cases (PACC) Act, the court ruled that the PACC's constitutionality "has no bearing whatsoever on the applicant’s conviction and sentence" and that there was no basis to grant him a stay of execution.
This was the second time Azwan's family received an execution notice this year—the first had come in April, in the middle of Hari Raya celebrations, only for the hanging to be postponed at the eleventh hour due to an ongoing legal proceeding. This time, the family was informed on Monday (30 September) that Azwan would be hanged on Friday (4 October), giving them a mere four days' notice.
We learn, from a judgment summarily dismissing a last-ditch application filed by Azwan, that (emphasis mine):
The existing practice prior to June 2024 was that all PACPs would be given at least a seven-day notification period, even if it were a renotification of an execution that was rescheduled (ie, where a PACP has his or her execution rescheduled to a later date) (the “Renotification Period”). In June 2024, MHA reviewed this practice. It was then determined that if a PACP had previously been notified of a scheduled execution and had their execution stayed or halted by respite past the halfway mark of their notification period, the PACP would be given a reduced Renotification Period. Under the reviewed practice, every PACP will still receive at least seven days in total to settle their affairs.
It's unclear why MHA decided that the practice of seven days' notice needed to be reviewed and shortened for "renotifications". I'm not sure what significant difference it makes to the state, but to desperate, grieving families, three days is a big, big deal. What does the state imagine when they think about prisoners "settling their affairs"? If one had a few days to spend time with loved ones before receiving a stay of execution—with no idea how long this stay might hold—does the state think that one needs less time to be with them the second time 'round? You had some time to say goodbye to your mother/sister/lover/child the first time you thought you were going to die (but didn't), so now you don't need that much time before the state has a second go at killing you? What the heck is this logic? Can someone provide an explanation that makes sense and isn't sociopathically cruel?
Azwan wasn't the only one who received an execution notice and then a stay of execution earlier this year. I'm really worried about what this might mean for the others—will we see another execution soon?
It's all the more urgent for Singaporeans to speak out and take a stand. World Day Against the Death Penalty is coming soon, on 10 October. The Transformative Justice Collective has a series of events planned, starting with an event examining the impact the death penalty has on its victims. Come join us.
(2)
That was a nasty surprise for S Iswaran, the disgraced former transport minister. On Thursday, the judge sentenced him to 12 months in prison—even more than what the prosecution had suggested. The prosecution had suggested six to seven months, while Iswaran's lawyer thought eight weeks would be good enough. The judge thought that both would have been "manifestly inadequate". Let's see if Iswaran appeals this.
With Iswaran's case more or less out of the way, the prosecution turned their attention to property tycoon and billionaire Ong Beng Seng. He's been charged with abetting a public servant in receiving gifts and obstructing justice. The case has been adjourned until 15 November, so we've got to wait and see what happens.
Iswaran also received gifts—including a Brompton bike worth $7,900—from David Lum Kok Seng, managing director of Lum Chang Holdings, but the AGC isn't going to be filing charges against Lum.
Accidental Death of an Activist
I made a trip to the theatre with my friends on Thursday night to see Wild Rice's the Accidental Death of an Activist. (Thank you for the invite!) The verdict? You should definitely catch this one. It runs until 19 October. Get your tickets.
Adapted from Accidental Death of an Anarchist, a classic Italian play by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, this outrageous, laugh-out-loud show begins with a scandal: an anti-death penalty (*ahem*) activist brought into the police station for questioning has wound up dead. What led to him going out a window on the fourth storey of the station? Was it suicide? Was he pushed? Or was it just a tragic accident for which no one can be held responsible?
It's a farce, because authoritarianism is farcical, bullshit from top to bottom. The play is (supposedly) set in Italy, but we all know where this version is really set. It's hilarious but also powerful, pointing out the contradictions, the hubris, the cowardice, the blatant moral bankruptcy of state power and oppression. Watch it and laugh. But more importantly, watch it and think.
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