dbo:abstract
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- Cheong Chun Yin (张俊炎 Zhāng Jùnyán; born 1984) is a Malaysian and former death row convict who is currently serving life imprisonment in Singapore. Cheong and his accomplice Pang Siew Fum (彭秀芳 Péng Xiùfāng) were convicted of trafficking of 2,726g of heroin into Singapore from Myanmar in 2008, and sentenced to death by hanging in 2010. Cheong submitted multiple unsuccessful appeals against his sentence; his case, similar to Yong Vui Kong's, received much attention in the media, at a time when activists argued for Singapore to abolish the death penalty. When changes to the law allowed the courts in 2013 to give out life sentences to drug convicts who were only acting as drug mules or suffering from mental illnesses, Cheong applied for re-sentencing. As he was not certified as a drug courier, Cheong initially became ineligible for re-sentencing and tried to fight for certification as a courier, until finally, due to new information received, Cheong's case was reviewed and he was finally acknowledged and certified as a courier, which allowed Cheong to be removed from death row and received life imprisonment with 15 strokes of the cane in April 2015. His accomplice Pang Siew Fum was also later placed under life imprisonment as a result of a mental illness. (en)
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