Death row inmate Nazeri Lajim beams at the camera, fingers raised in a “V” sign, wearing a shirt emblazoned with large motifs and showing no signs of his impending hanging. Taken days before his execution at Singapore’s Changi prison, the picture is among the last mementoes Lajim’s family has of the 64-year-old, who was executed on charges of drug trafficking.
In the city-state, prison officials offer a photo shoot shortly before an inmate’s hanging, providing simple props like chairs and other items.
“When I see his photograph he’s (a) very healthy man, he’s very good looking man... his face shines,” sais Nazira Lajim Hertslet, his sister. “I was very upset... that he was taken away just like that.”
Photo: AFP
Singapore imposes the death penalty for a litany of crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping.
It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis can result in the death penalty.
Thirteen people have been hanged since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: AFP
In a program first introduced in the 1990s, they were offered the option to pose for photographs before their death.
‘QUITE CRUEL’
Usually taken against a pale-green flowery backdrop, the photos offer a glimpse into the last days of the condemned.
The Singapore Prison Service says participation in the program is voluntary, and that the photo shoots “allow family members to have recent photographs of their loved one.”
Relatives, however, say they have mixed feelings about the practice.
“Actually it’s quite cruel to do such thing, to take photograph on his last days,” said Hertslet, pointing to the horror inmates might feel knowing it was their last time being photographed alive.
“But at least we have his last photo for memories when he’s really gone,” she added.
Nazeri was hanged last year for trafficking more than 33 grams of heroin.
In his sister’s favorite photograph of him, he is wearing a white Muslim prayer robe, his hands clasped in front, looking at the camera.
‘VENEER OF THOUGHTFULNESS’
Little information is publicly available about Singapore’s death row inmates.
The Transformative Justice Collective, which provides support to families of death row prisoners and advocates for the abolition of the death penalty, estimates about 53 people are on death row, the majority convicted of drug offenses. Authorities generally notify inmates and their families about a week before an execution.
During that time, the inmate is allowed to have daily visitors, but they are separated by a glass pane and no physical contact is allowed, according to the TJC.
Spiritual counselors are also provided.
Kokila Annamalai, a TJC activist, said the photo shoots are an attempt “to lend a veneer of thoughtfulness” to the executions.
In the photo sessions, prisoners can strike a particular pose or wear clothing that means something to a family member, she said.
“And so, I think that the photos are also like love letters to them.”
‘EVERY NIGHT I CRY’
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have long called on Singapore to abolish capital punishment, but the government insists it is an effective deterrent against crime. Tangaraju Suppiah, a 46-year-old Singaporean, was hanged in April for conspiring to smuggle one kilogram of cannabis.
“Every night I cry and every night I think about him,” said his sister Leelavathy Suppiah.
Tangaraju initially refused to do the photo shoot, but relented after his family persuaded him, she said.
Leelavathy has framed a photograph of him smiling, holding his thumb and forefinger in a heart shape — a pose popularized by K-pop stars.
“I’m very happy when I see the photos. At least he’s there in the photos,” she said, speaking in English. “This is the photo our family members everybody like because he smile,” she added.
Still, she wondered what must have been going through her brother’s mind in his final days.“They know they’re going to die,” she said. “It’s cruel, you know?”
WHITE SNEAKERS
Kalwant Singh’s family bought him a pair of white sneakers, which he wore with a T-shirt, sweatpants and a broad smile in one photograph.
Sonia Tarlochan Kaur, the 31-year-old Malaysian’s sister, said he only got about half an hour during the photo shoot to wear the shoes, and so ran around the cell block to make the most of them.
After Kalwant’s execution for heroin trafficking last year, Sonia said she cannot bring herself to look at the photographs.
“They could have just given me that half an hour to hug him tight.”
On Jan. 17, Beijing announced that it would allow residents of Shanghai and Fujian Province to visit Taiwan. The two sides are still working out the details. President William Lai (賴清德) has been promoting cross-strait tourism, perhaps to soften the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) attitudes, perhaps as a sop to international and local opinion leaders. Likely the latter, since many observers understand that the twin drivers of cross-strait tourism — the belief that Chinese tourists will bring money into Taiwan, and the belief that tourism will create better relations — are both false. CHINESE TOURISM PIPE DREAM Back in July
Taiwan doesn’t have a lot of railways, but its network has plenty of history. The government-owned entity that last year became the Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) has been operating trains since 1891. During the 1895-1945 period of Japanese rule, the colonial government made huge investments in rail infrastructure. The northern port city of Keelung was connected to Kaohsiung in the south. New lines appeared in Pingtung, Yilan and the Hualien-Taitung region. Railway enthusiasts exploring Taiwan will find plenty to amuse themselves. Taipei will soon gain its second rail-themed museum. Elsewhere there’s a number of endearing branch lines and rolling-stock collections, some
Could Taiwan’s democracy be at risk? There is a lot of apocalyptic commentary right now suggesting that this is the case, but it is always a conspiracy by the other guys — our side is firmly on the side of protecting democracy and always has been, unlike them! The situation is nowhere near that bleak — yet. The concern is that the power struggle between the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their now effectively pan-blue allies the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) intensifies to the point where democratic functions start to break down. Both
This was not supposed to be an election year. The local media is billing it as the “2025 great recall era” (2025大罷免時代) or the “2025 great recall wave” (2025大罷免潮), with many now just shortening it to “great recall.” As of this writing the number of campaigns that have submitted the requisite one percent of eligible voters signatures in legislative districts is 51 — 35 targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus lawmakers and 16 targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The pan-green side has more as they started earlier. Many recall campaigns are billing themselves as “Winter Bluebirds” after the “Bluebird Action”
RSS