LFL says more coming forward about Singapore’s execution methods


(MMO) – Another Singaporean prison officer has contacted Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) to confirm allegations of brutal execution methods in Singapore, the group’s adviser said today.

N. Surendran said the officer, who is still with Singapore’s prison authority, corroborated eye-witness testimony from another official whose information formed the basis of the LFL’s allegations.

The group and other entities in Singapore that carried the allegation have been subjected to Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 (POFMA) under orders from Singapore Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam.

Surendran’s group sued the Singaporean minister today to challenge the enforcement.

“I can also reveal to you that since we made public the details of the execution, another officer has come forward and this officer is still in the Singapore Prison Service.

“We should and cannot reveal his identity but we have another witness to support and corroborate what our earlier source upon which we rely. This is certainly very disturbing,” Surendran told reporters after filing the lawsuit at the High Court here today.

He said that the onus was now on the Singapore government to investigate the allegation, adding the witnesses were prepared to testify in court if they are granted protection as whistleblowers.

“That’s why we said our sources are impeccable and we have every reason to believe that there’s truth to these allegations and it is incumbent for Singapore to inquire through it and put a stop to it rather than going after the messengers,” he said.

On January 16, LFL publicly alleged that Singaporean executors kick and pull on inmates condemned to death by hanging to effectively kill them.

Yesterday, Shanmugan directed the POFMA Office to issue these correction orders to LFL together with socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC), online news site Yahoo News Singapore and freelance journalist Kirsten Han, alongside their social media posts or articles.

LFL refused to withdraw the allegation, saying it stood by its Singaporean informants and rejected the republic’s attempt to enforce its laws on Malaysians acting in their home country.

 



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