The acquittal of a Thai national charged with murder after a Singapore High Court judge found he was assaulted while in police custody has led to calls for an inquiry into the case.
Somporn Chinphakdee, 44, was accused of murdering his roommate at a construction site in March last year.
Mr Justice S. Rajendran ruled that three statements made by Mr Somporn to the police were inadmissible and acquitted him.
During a trial within a trial to determine the admissibility of the statements, the court was told that the accused was punched, kicked and had his hair pulled when he was questioned by police.
The court also heard that Mr Somporn was pricked with a needle during police questioning. An X-ray of his upper left arm confirmed the presence of part of the needle, which had broken into two pieces.
Mr Somporn was also asked to strip to his underwear and stand close to an air-conditioner.
Other prisoners have reported the use of rooms cooled to low temperatures during interrogations. Michael Fay, the American teenager caned recently for vandalising cars, said he was threatened with the ''air-con room'' when he was interrogated by police.
