The British author of Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, Alan Shadrake, who was arrested yesterday morning, has yet to receive any access to legal representation, according to his lawyer M Ravi.

NONE "We sent a letter at midnight to ask for his status and for us to have access to our client. But there's no reply from the police as yet," he told Malaysiakini in a telephone conversation.

Ravi explained that although the Singapore constitution provided detainees with the right to access counsel, the court had taken the position that this right does not have to be immediate.

"Shadrake ( left ) could be detained for 48 hours, and then brought to a magistrate for a remand order. Throughout this period, the police can deny access to counsel until their investigation is complete," he said.

The lawyer claimed that some of his clients have been detained for up to 14 days without any representation.

"We are sending another reminder," Ravi said, adding that he hoped the police would allow them to meet their client.

Shadrake was in Singapore for the launch of his book on Saturday at Little India. However, he was arrested yesterday morning at 8am at his hotel.

The arrest was made following a complaint lodged by the Media Development Authority on Friday.

The Singapore authorities claim that Shadrake is being investigated for alleged offences of criminal defamation.

The veteran freelance journalist has also been served with an order by Singapore's Attorney-General to attend court for contempt of court, based on the contents of the book.

NONE The 219-page book is filled with accounts of high-profile cases in Singapore involving the death penalty, particularly cases where drug trafficking was involved, and includes interviews with the country's former executioner Darshan Singh ( left ).

Like Malaysia, trafficking above a threshold amount of certain drugs in Singapore warrants the mandatory death sentence.

This means that judges do not take into account mitigating factors or have any authority to mete out alternative sentences.

Among other notable cases, the book highlighted the case of Vignes Mourthi, a Malaysian hanged in 2003. But the prosecution's chief witness, police officer Sgt Rajkumar, was later found guilty of bribery and sentenced to 15 months in prison.

According to Shadrake's book, Rajkumar was being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the same time he was testifying in Vignes' trial, but this was not made known to the defence attorneys.

Shadrake says Vignes' father is planning to sue the Singapore government to clear his son's name.

It was reported that the book was previously sold in the Kinokuniya bookshop in the republic. However, less than two weeks after it was made available, the Singapore authorities have seized them and told the proprietor not to display books that could be "incriminating".

However, it was stated that the book is not banned.

A 22-year-old Malaysian Yong Vui Kong, is currently on death row in Singapore. This has sparked interest among Malaysians and Singaporeans as lawyers are fighting to keep him from the gallows.