There is no jury system in Singapore. A single judge decides the fate of the defendant. Perhaps you remember the American student who was sentenced to be caned in the 1990s? No jury had a chance to set him free.

The jury system was abolished in 1969 by Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore as an independent state. In doing so, he cited the record of lawyer David Marshall, who had juries acquit 99 out of 100 defendants who were accused of murder. Lee called Marshall's record "inadequate".

Strangely, the fantastically-eyebrowed Marshall actually preceded Lee to the post. He was the Chief Minister of Singapore when it was still under British rule. Marshall only served for one year... Lee served for over 30.

Of course, since independence, Singapore transformed itself from a backwater port to a thriving, modern metropolis. Just... let's hope some who should not be named don't get any ideas about reforming the judicial system and ruling for three decades...