UK writer freed from Singapore jail

A BRITISH author who spent five weeks in a Singapore prison after being convicted of contempt of court has been freed and has left the city, his lawyer said yesterday.

Alan Shadrake, 76, was sentenced to six weeks in jail and fined $20,000 (10,000) for scandalising the judiciary in his book Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice System In The Dock about the use of the death penalty.

Shadrake could not pay the fine, which increased his jail sentence to eight weeks, but M Ravi, who represented Shadrake in court, said the author was released early due to good behaviour.

"He is on a plane going to London," said Ravi, adding that Shadrake had been treated at the prison hospital for a slipped disc.

Singapore, an island nation of 5.1 million people, imposes the death penalty for crimes such as murder and has a mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking. It boasts one of the lowest crime rates in the world.

The south-east Asian city state has, however, been criticised for its harsh laws and use of lawsuits against critics.