World Report 2011 - Human Rights Watch

ASIAposes [are] prejudicial to public peace, welfare or good order” or that registrationwould be “contrary to the national interest.”Criminal Justice SystemSingapore’s Internal Security Act and Criminal Law (Temporary Provision Act andUndesirable Publications Act) both permit arrest and detention without warrant orjudicial review. The Misuse of Drugs Act permits confinement of suspected drugusers in “rehabilitation” centers for up to three years without trial. Second-timeoffenders face prison terms and may be caned.Singapore continues to implement its mandatory death sentences for some 20drug-related offenses, which has been repeatedly criticized by United Nationshuman rights bodies and experts. In August a court postponed the scheduledexecution of Malaysian Yong Vui Kong, 22 years old, accused of transporting 47grams of heroin into Singapore in 2007, following international attention to thecase.Judicial caning, an inherently cruel punishment, is a mandatory additional punishmentfor medically fit males between 16 and 50 years old who have been sentencedto prison for a range of crimes including drug trafficking, rape, and immigrationoffenses. In addition, a sentencing official may at his discretion order caningin cases involving some 30 other violent and non-violent crimes. The maximumnumber of strokes at any one time is 24.The US State Department reported that “through November [2009] 4,228 convictedpersons were sentenced to caning, and 99.8 percent of caning sentences werecarried out.” The case of Oliver Fricker, a Swiss national, drew international attentionin June 2010 when he was sentenced to five months in jail and three strokesof the cane for breaking into a subway system depot and spray painting one of itscars. On appeal, Fricker’s sentence was increased by two months.367