A 76-year-old British author on Friday lost his appeal against a six-week jail term and fine for insulting Singapore's judiciary in a book about criminal executions in the city-state.

NONE Alan Shadrake, a freelance journalist and author of 'Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock', joked and laughed with reporters outside the court after the judgment was read.

"I expected the decision. I am very sorry for Singapore. I'm not sorry for myself," he said.

Shadrake will undergo a medical test before he starts his jail term on Wednesday.

He had been out on bail while seeking to reverse a High Court ruling in November that sentenced him to prison and a fine of S$20,000 (RM49,000) for insulting the judiciary.

"We affirm the sentence imposed by the judge," said Justice Andrew Phang of the three-member Court of Appeal panel.

There was no immediate comment from the British embassy.

When he launched his appeal, Shadrake defiantly described the charges as "bloody nonsense" and said he was ready to go to jail.

Stiffest sentence ever imposed

Shadrake's jail term was the stiffest sentence ever imposed in Singapore for the offence and was denounced by international human rights groups campaigning for an end to executions and for greater freedom of expression in the country.

Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia of campaign group Human Rights Watch, said the court of appeal’s decision was “a devastating blow to free speech in Singapore”.

“It is shameful. More broadly, until the government releases its iron grip on basic freedoms, the Singaporean people will remain all the poorer for it,” he told AFP from Bangkok.

NONE Shadrake said last week that the second edition of his book was already on sale in Australia and due to be launched in Britain on June 1.

His book includes a profile of Darshan Singh, the former chief executioner at Singapore's Changi Prison who, according to the author, hanged around 1,000 men and women including foreigners from 1959 until he retired in 2006.

The book also features interviews with human rights activists, lawyers and former police officers, and alleges that some cases involving foreigners may have been influenced by diplomatic and trade considerations.

Shadrake was arrested by Singapore police in July while visiting the city to launch his book, which was first published in neighbouring Malaysia.

Singapore law provides that “a person commits the offence of scandalising the court if he makes statements which have an inherent tendency to interfere with the administration of justice,” according to a court press statement explaining the case.

- AFP