The new edition will exclude sections which have been ruled by Singapore High Court as scandalising and tarnishing the reputation of the Singapore judiciary. Despite so, Shadrake promised that the book will be as "hard-hitting" as the first edition and "devastatingly accurate".
The book will also be updated to reflect current developments in capital punishment cases in Singapore, such as the ongoing case involving the judicial review appeal of Malaysian drug mule Yong Vui Kong.
Earlier this year, several youths were hauled in for investigation by the Singapore Police Folice for the alleged selling of the print edition of Jolly Hangman, which authorities claimed has not been banned, but in an apparent act of contradiction sent letters demanding bookstores to withdraw the book from their shelves, which they promptly acceded to.
The unannounced ban on the sale of the book has also stroked curiosity and shored up demand which propelled it to bestseller status last year with 4 print runs in 5 months.
Singapore, which has the toughest capital punishment laws in the region, continues to arbitrarily apply the death sentence to convicts and defy international trend for abolishment. In its most recent ruling, the High Court announced that the Singapore President has no powers to grant clemencies to death row convicts unless explicitly instructed by the Cabinet.
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| Ceremonial head of State, SR Nathan |
After an uncontested victory in 1999 where he was hand-picked by the authoritarian regime to assume the position, the President has never granted a single Clemency Petition in his 12 years as ceremonial head of State. Last year, he launched his book aptly entitled "Why Am I Here?", describing his earlier years as a maritime trade union labour officer.
Officially the highest paid political figure in the world with an annual public-funded salary of US$3.4 million, the President certainly makes no disguise of the redundancy of his existence in public service.
As President S.R. Nathan has asked the question of his existence, we would also like to ask the same: Why is the President here?
sgdeathpenalty
Well done Alan Shadrake!
ReplyDeleteMay you prosper in health, wealth and fortitude!
I look forward to your next book,
"Lee Con You, I Stand Corrected"
Keep up the good work Alan.
ReplyDeleteMany people in Singapore are behind you, and we want to thank you for your courage to write this book. You defiance of the authoritarian regime is an inspiration to all of us. Many of us have lived in fear and submission for far too long, and will never dream of questioning the authorities. You book is a waking up call to us.
alan shadrake lives in malaysia and malaysia has the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking cases.
ReplyDeletenow the big question is - why didn't alan shadrake also include malaysia as a case study in his so called "book" ?
@anonymous 8:38AM: that's like saying that a book on Confucianism in Korea should also have a chapter on Confucianism in Japan if the author is living there. That makes absolutely no sense. I would encourage Alan to write a book on Malaysia as well! :)
ReplyDeletethis book is not banned in singapore the last I checked
ReplyDeletethe reason why I did not include Malaysia in Once a Jolly Hangman is because I spent seven years in Singapore and only left to take up residence in Penang early last year. I am currently researching this subject in Malaysia - so be patient. Next on my list is Saudi Arabia and those United States states that also still keep the dp.
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