Background:
The ruling People's Action Party (PAP), in power since 1959, continued to dominate the political scene, with 80 of 83 elected seats in parliament. In September S.R. Nathan was sworn in as the new president of Singapore. Backed by the government, he was elected unopposed after several other potential contenders were declared ineligible. Only those who have served as a cabinet minister, chief justice, senior civil servant or as head of a large company are eligible to stand for the presidency. There was continued concern that, while no new civil defamation suits were filed, this practice continued to be misused by government leaders to curb the right to freedom of expression and the right of political opponents to participate freely in public life. An array of restrictive legislation remained in place, further undermining the right to freedom of expression and engendering a climate of self-censorship.

Restrictions on freedom of expression:
Dr Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party, was jailed twice in February for giving two speeches in public without a licence. For both convictions he was fined a total of S$3900 (approximately US$2,340), but chose instead to serve two prison terms of seven and 12 days respectively. The Party's Assistant Secretary-General, Wong Hong Toy, was also imprisoned for 12 days after refusing to pay a fine for adjusting Dr Chee Soon Juan's microphone and the volume of the speaker. Both men were prisoners of conscience. They were also disqualified automatically from participating in elections for five years. However, in May their fines were reduced on appeal, allowing them to stand for elections in future. Dr Chee Soon Juan was also fined in March for selling, without a permit, his book about the persecution of several prominent Asian dissidents. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge, claiming that book stores and vendors had refused to sell his books out of fear of prosecution. In August the police were reported to have refused him permission to hold two public rallies on "the need for political openness in Singapore". In July Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong withdrew his petition to make J.B. Jeyaretnam, leader of the opposition Workers' Party, bankrupt. The petition stemmed from a civil defamation suit lodged by the Prime Minister against J.B. Jeyaretnam for allegedly defaming him at an election rally in 1997. J.B. Jeyaretnam, who lost the suit, had been unable to pay the full amount of damages awarded to the Prime Minister. AI had expressed concern at the high level of damages which appeared to be designed to bankrupt J.B. Jeyaretnam, thereby disqualifying him from parliament and curtailing his participation in public life. In May the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by J.B. Jeyaretnam and the Workers' Party against a large defamation award for allegedly defaming a PAP parliamentarian and nine other members of the ethnic Tamil community in an article published in a Workers' Party newsletter in 1995. Although proceedings were suspended, J.B. Jeyaretnam continued to face bankruptcy and disqualification from parliament, and the Workers' Party faced closure, if they were unable to pay the award, amounting to S$511,000 (approximately US$307,000) including costs.

Conscientious objectors to military service:
At least 32 conscientious objectors to military service were imprisoned during the year. All were members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, a religious group which has been banned in Singapore since 1972. The men refused to perform military service on religious grounds and were considered to be prisoners of conscience. There is no alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors to military service in Singapore.

Death penalty:
The death penalty remained a mandatory punishment for drug trafficking, murder, treason and certain firearms offences. At least three death sentences were reported to have been passed during the year for drug trafficking or murder. The true number was believed to be higher. It was difficult to obtain information about the number of death sentences passed and executions carried out during the year as the government does not publish statistics. However, newspapers reported that 11 executions by hanging were carried out between January and March alone. AI has recorded at least 190 executions since 1994, which means that in proportion to its population, Singapore has possibly one of the highest rates of executions in the world. The majority of executions are believed to have been for drug trafficking.

Cruel judicial punishment:
Caning, which constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, remained mandatory for some 30 crimes, including attempted murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking, illegal immigration offences and vandalism. Drug addicts also face a mandatory caning sentence and imprisonment if they have been admitted more than twice to a drug rehabilitation centre. Caning may also be imposed for a number of other crimes, including extortion, kidnapping and causing grievous injury. It was not known how many sentences were carried out during the year. Juvenile offenders may be caned as a punishment.

* In October a 14-year-old boy, described in court by the prosecution as a "social monster", was sentenced to 10 strokes of the cane and five years' imprisonment for attacking and robbing an elderly man.