SINGAPORE - The highest court in Singapore on March 27 dismissed an appeal by 36 death row prisoners who had filed a constitutional challenge against two new provisions introduced by a law that aims to prevent abuse of the court processes.
The challenge relates to the Post-Appeal Applications in Capital Cases Act (Pacc Act), which introduces a new procedure for certain applications made by death row inmates after their avenues of appeal have been exhausted. These include the application to stay a judicial execution.
The law was passed by Parliament in 2022, but has not yet come into force.
In December 2023, a High Court judge struck out the inmates’ challenge on the grounds that they have no legal standing to bring the challenge.
This was because the provisions are not in operation and therefore did not affect the rights and interests of the 36 inmates, said the High Court.
The inmates then appealed against the High Court decision.
On March 27, the inmates appeared in a Zoom hearing before the Court of Appeal, which comprised Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Justices Steven Chong and Belinda Ang.
Get a round-up of the top stories to start your day
Thank you!
Sign up
By signing up, I accept SPH Media's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy as amended from time to time.
Yes, I would also like to receive SPH Media Group's SPH Media Limited, its related corporations and affiliates as well as their agents and authorised service providers.
marketing and promotions.
The prisoners included Iskandar Rahmat, who was convicted of the 2013 Kovan double murder, and Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad, who was convicted in 2015 of trafficking heroin.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice told the inmates that the Act was not in force and did not affect any applications they have filed.
Masoud said the inmates did not know when the law would come into force.
The Chief Justice replied that there was nothing to stop them from filing the challenge when the Act comes into force.
Iskandar argued that the Act will come into force some time in the future.
The Chief Justice replied that the law would not apply retrospectively.
After a brief stand-down, the apex court dismissed the inmates’ appeal, saying that it agreed with the High Court judge’s analysis.
One of the provisions being challenged states that an inmate who has exhausted his avenues of appeal must first obtain permission from the Court of Appeal to make a post-appeal application.
High Court rejects bids by two King’s Counsel to act for 4 drug traffickers on death row
Man who killed ex-fiancee is first person to be executed for murder in Singapore since 2019
The other provision allows the court to summarily dismiss the application for permission without a hearing.
The inmates contended that the two provisions were inconsistent with the rights to a fair trial and access to justice contained in Article 9 of the Constitution.
They also contended that the provisions were inconsistent with Article 12 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.
In handing down the apex court’s decision, the Chief Justice said the question in the present case is whether the prisoners have actually been affected by the provisions.
The clear answer to that is “no”, he said. “The appellants are currently free to bring any application they wish without being affected in any way by the Pacc Act provisions, because these are not currently in force,” he said.
He added that any application that the inmates may make will not be affected by the Pacc Act coming into force in the future, because it is expressly stated the Act applies only prospectively.
Although the case was dismissed solely on the issue of standing, the court went on to note that the expectation of what due process requires for a prisoner who has exhausted all his avenues of appeal is very likely to be different when compared with an accused person who is being tried for the first time.
11 judicial executions in 2022; none in previous two years
Capital punishment for drug trafficking essential to saving lives: Shanmugam
Unlock unlimited access to ST exclusive content, insights and analyses
ST One Digital - Annual
$9.90 $4.95 /month
Get offer
$59.40 for the first year and $118.80 per year thereafter.
ST One Digital - Monthly
29.90 $9.90 /month
Subscribe today
No lock-in contract
Unlock more knowledge, unlock more benefits
New feature: Stay up to date on important topics and follow your favourite writers with myST All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com Easy access any time via ST app on one mobile device
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Death penalty/Capital punishment Court of Appeal Singapore courts
Facebook Telegram More Whatsapp Linkedin Twitter FB Messenger Email Print Purchase Article Copy permalink https://str.sg/kKrk
Read this subscriber-only article for free!
Just sign up for a free account and log in to continue reading.
Apex court dismisses appeal by 36 death row inmates who filed challenge against new process
Sign up
Already have an account? Log in.
All done! This article is now fully available for you
Apex court dismisses appeal by 36 death row inmates who filed challenge against new process
Read now
Please verify your e-mail to read this subscriber-only article in full
Apex court dismisses appeal by 36 death row inmates who filed challenge against new process
Resend verification e-mail
The gift link for this subscriber-only article has expired.
Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month for the first 3 months.
Subscribe now
You have reached your limit of subscriber-only articles this month.
Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month for the first 3 months.
Subscribe now
Read and win!
Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards
Let's go! Terms & conditions apply
Frequently asked questions
Good job, you've read 3 articles today!
Spin the wheel now
Let's go! Terms & conditions apply
Frequently asked questions