Justice, mercy and a long road to recovery: An in-depth look at criminals with mental illness in Singapore

Accused people with mental illness are given special treatment in Singapore’s legal system, but how exactly does the court decide the extent of the role a mental condition plays, and what happens to the accused person when he goes into prison and thereafter?

When he was 18, Ng Say Tiong started taking heroin, egged on by bad company in the Tanjong Rhu area where he lived with his parents and two younger brothers.
The son of a coolie and a hawker was arrested and sentenced to three years in a Reformative Training Centre for taking drugs.

He continued to commit crimes after his release from the reformative training centre. For this, Say Tiong was jailed on more than 10 occasions, mostly for drug offences but also for hurting others. He would take drugs, drink alcohol and attack others with weapons when he felt enraged by what they said.

Read the full story here.