One beneficiary of the new trend is Ridzuan Mohamad Hanafi, a 20-year-old Singaporean who faced at least five years in jail and five strokes of the cane for trafficking in the synthetic drug Ecstasy. Instead, to his shock, he was sentenced this month to two years' probation and 150 hours of community service.

"The courts are ever more so willing to look at the spectrum of options available to them to find what is best for each individual young offender," said Wendell Wong, Ridzuan's defense counsel. He speculated that the judge acted on a probation officer's report that said the first-time offender showed potential for rehabilitation. Prosecutors have appealed the ruling.

The case reflects Singapore's efforts to tinker with strict policies and rules that its leaders say are a hallmark of its success as one of the most secure, modern places in Asia. They acknowledge the need for change, though not at the pace that some international critics would like.

The new chief justice, Chan Sek Keong, wants to give judges more room to use alternatives to harsh punishments, with the goal of rehabilitation in mind. The government supports the changes.

"The current guidelines that have been put forward are outdated," said Subhas Anandan, president of Singapore's Association of Criminal Lawyers.

"They do not give the judge alternatives," he said. "Everything is jail, or jail plus caning. There must be alternative sentencing options like community service, or probation, or probation with a lot of strings attached to it."

Singapore's tough laws have sometimes triggered international anger, most recently when a 25-year-old Vietnam-born Australian was executed for heroin trafficking last year. The death penalty is mandatory for armed robbery and some drug trafficking offences.

In 1994, an American teenager found guilty of vandalizing cars with spray-paint, and was caned despite appeals for leniency by US President Bill Clinton.

Singapore threatened to cane any violent protesters when it hosted the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in September. The gathering was peaceful.

Singapore was once an unruly place, particularly in the years leading up to independence in 1965 and the early years of nationhood, when gang violence was common and the Malay and Chinese communities sometimes clashed. Authorities have kept crime low in the past few decades, and many Singaporeans support tough justice.

The legal system is derived from British law, but Singapore has introduced its own traditions. Trial by jury was abolished in the 1970s. Offenders appealing for leniency have sometimes had their sentences increased.

The country still uses the colonial-era Internal Security Act, which allows for arrest without charge and indefinite detention without trial. However, some members of the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah were released after it was determined that they were responding well to rehabilitation. Restrictions on free speech and assembly are among the toughest in Asia.

Chan, the chief justice, says courts should place more emphasis on rehabilitating criminals, as well as deterring them, and is reviewing sentencing guidelines for serious crimes.

He has set up a special "community court" for certain offenses for which judges may decide to impose probation, counseling and community service, either in combination with or in place of jail, caning and fines.

The "community court" hears cases such as those involving 16- to 18-year-olds, people with mental disabilities, disputes among neighbors, suicide attempts, family violence and animal cruelty.

"Concern has been expressed on our sentencing practices with respect to consistency and proportionality," Chan said in April after he was appointed to the post. "It is essential to maintain public confidence that while the courts will continue with the policy of dealing firmly with criminals, the punishments imposed should fit the crimes."

The Supreme Court said the chief justice does not speak to the media as a matter of policy.

There is no sign that Singapore is going soft on crime, but judges already appear to have deemed some offenders fit for rehabilitation.

In recent months, an 18-year-old girl was sentenced to two years' probation instead of jail for multiple charges of counterfeiting currency, and a woman's 33-month jail term for seven counts of credit card fraud was reduced to probation.

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