SINGAPORE, Oct 19 — The findings of three studies showing strong support of Singapore's use of the death penalty for serious crimes such as murder and drug trafficking have been released in full for the first time by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The studies were either conducted or commissioned by MHA between 2018 and 2021, and their reports released today (October 19).
This is the first time MHA has released the full reports from these studies, the ministry confirmed in response to TODAY's queries.
On whether it was done to address international criticism and pressure to halt the death penalty here, MHA added: “The findings are being published now as the analysis of the results have been finalised and the reports have been completed.”
It added that Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam had also mentioned during the Budget debate in March that the findings would be released after the results had been analysed.
During the debate, Shanmugam mentioned findings from two of the studies.
One of them, commissioned by MHA and conducted between 2018 and 2021, found that more than eight in 10 people in the region agreed the death penalty is more effective than life imprisonment in deterring people from trafficking drugs into Singapore.
Shanmugam also said that the preliminary results of another study, conducted in 2021, showed that 66 per cent of Singapore residents said that the mandatory death penalty is appropriate as the punishment for drug trafficking.
A mandatory death penalty means that the court must impose the punishment on the offender once he or she is found guilty of that crime, and has no power to impose any other type of sentence.
The study, titled “Singapore Residents’ Attitudes towards the Death Penalty”, surveyed 2,000 Singapore residents, comprising both citizens and permanent residents aged 15 and above.
It showed that while 66 per cent of participants either strongly agreed or agreed with the use of the mandatory death penalty, as Shanmugam had mentioned, 14 per cent were neutral, while 20 per cent strongly disagreed or disagreed with its use.
However, of this 20 per cent who disagreed with the mandatory death penalty, 62 per cent believed life imprisonment was a more appropriate punishment for drug trafficking, while 23 per cent of them believed that the discretionary death penalty was more appropriate.
Taking this into account, 73 per cent of all the respondents believed that some form of death penalty, whether mandatory of discretionary, was an appropriate punishment for trafficking a significant amount of drugs, said MHA.
“Overall, the studies show that there is very strong support among Singapore residents on Singapore’s use of the death penalty for the most serious crimes,” the ministry added in a statement on Wednesday which accompanied the release of the findings.
“There is also a clear view, both domestically and within the region, that the death penalty is effective in deterring people from trafficking drugs into Singapore and is more effective than life imprisonment in doing so.”
More about the findings
The third study released by MHA was commissioned by the ministry and conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
Titled “Study on Attitudes towards the Use of Capital Punishment”, it surveyed 2,000 Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 18 and above between October 2019 and January 2020.
Findings from the both MHA's 2021 study on Singapore residents and the IPS one revealed similar views on the use of the death penalty in general:
• In the MHA study, 74 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the death penalty should be used for the most serious crimes
• Meanwhile, 11 per cent strongly disagreed or disagreed with this, and the remaining 15 per cent said they were “neutral”
• In the IPS study, 74 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the death penalty is justified for the most serious of crimes, while 8 per cent strongly disagreed or disagreed
When asked specifically on the mandatory death penalty, both the IPS and MHA studies found that a majority of the respondents said that it was appropriate that the mandatory death penalty be applied for serious crimes.
• In the IPS study, 71 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the death penalty should be mandatory for murder
• Meanwhile, 62 per cent said it should be mandatory for drug trafficking, and 60 per cent for the use of firearms
• In the MHA survey, 81 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the mandatory death penalty was appropriate for murder
• The figure was 71 per cent for the use of firearms and 66 per cent for drug trafficking
Taking into account respondents who disagreed with the mandatory death penalty, but preferred the discretionary death penalty, 88 per cent agreed to some form of the death penalty as a punishment for murder, 82 per cent for use of firearms, and 73 per cent for drug trafficking.
Both studies also asked Singaporeans and permanent residents if they agreed that the death penalty is effective in deterring serious crimes:
• In the IPS study, 78 per cent of respondents believed that the death penalty serves as a deterrent for serious crimes in general
• In relation to drug trafficking, 79 per cent of respondents believed that the death penalty deters people from the act, while 71 per cent believed that it is more effective than life imprisonment in doing so
• In the MHA study, a “large majority” of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the death penalty in Singapore deters drug trafficking (83 per cent), firearm offences (86 per cent), and murder (86 per cent)
• In that study, 74 per cent of respondents also agreed or strongly agreed that the death penalty is more effective than life imprisonment in deterring people from trafficking drugs into Singapore. ― TODAY
