Not surprisingly, it is the hangman Singh, whose identity was revealed to the world last in an exclusive interview with The Australian, who has dominated conversation among Singaporeans. After The Australian‘s article, Singh reportedly said that he had been sacked for granting the interview, and would be missing out on his S$470 (C$322) executioner‘s payment.

The New Paper ran an interview depicting him as a solid civil servant duped into talking to The Australian.The article drew heavily on Singh‘s description of his vocation, his job satisfaction and his now infamous send-off to the condemned: “I am now sending you to a better place than this. God bless you.“

Singh has officially retired from the prison service but is called upon to carry out executions, for which he receives a fee of S$400 (C$312).

He apparently wanted to give up his hangman‘s responsibilities and live quietly in retirement but the authorities were having trouble finding anyone to replace him.

“He tried to train two would-be hangmen to replace him, a Malaysian and a Chinese, both in the prison service,“ the colleague said. “But when it came to pulling the lever for the real thing, they both froze and could not do it.“

“The Chinese guy, a prison officer, became so distraught he walked out immediately and resigned from the prison service altogether.“

In his work, Singh used the Official Table of Drops, published by the British Home Office in 1913, to calculate the correct length of rope for the hanging.

Singh joined the British colonial prison service in the mid-1950s after arriving from Malaysia. When the long established British hangman Mr Seymour retired, Singh, then 27, volunteered for the job. He was attracted by the bonus payment for executions.

He is credited with being the only executioner in the world to single handedly hang 18 men in one day, three at a time.

They had been convicted of murdering four prison officers during a riot on the penal island of Pulau Senang in 1963.

He also hanged seven condemned men within 90 minutes a few years later. They had been convicted in what became known as the “gold bars murders,“ in which a merchant and two employees were killed during a robbery.

One of the most controversial executions in his career was the 1991 hanging of a young Filipina maid, Flor Contemplacion, who was convicted of the murder of a coworker, Delia Maga, and her four year old son, on what many believed was shaky evidence.

He carries out the executions wearing simple casual clothes, often just a T-shirt, shorts, sports shoes and knee-length socks.

To mark his 500th hanging four years ago, four of his former colleagues turned up at his home to celebrate the event with a couple of bottles of Chivas Regal.

Singh boasts that he has never botched an execution.

“Mr Seymour taught him just how long the drop should be according to weight and height and exactly where the knot should be placed at the back of the neck,“ his colleague said.

“Death has always come instantaneously and painlessly. In that split second, at precisely 6am, it‘s all over.“

Singh was an accomplished cricketer in his youth and was often opening bat.

“He is a keen soccer fan,“ his colleague said. “His favourite team is Manchester United. He watches all the English Premier League matches he can.“

When his colleague asked him why he had stayed so long in such a gruesome job, he replied: “It‘s all I know. It has become my bread and butter.“

“He also used to cane convicted criminals after training in this field,“ the colleague said.

“The pay then was 50 cents per stroke. He could wield a cane as well as he could wield a cricket bat.“

Singh lives happily with his second wife and is close to their three adult adopted children.

His first wife left him years earlier because she could not accept what he did. He had kept it a secret from her for years.

Singh reportedly spends time getting to know the condemned prisoners, especially those who do not receive visitors or religious support.

“He is a very kindly man and although it‘s his job to end their lives he does feel for them,“ his friend said. “ Singh tries to comfort them if they are completely alone in the world at such a horrible time.”