Death in Singapore
Regulations surrounding death and treatment of the body after death
Deaths in Singapore offset the population increase from live births. In 2007, 17,140 people in Singapore died from various causes. The death rate was 4.5 deaths per 1,000 of the population. There are strict regulations surrounding death and treatment of the body after death.
Legal definition of death
Under section 2A of the Interpretation Act, a person is considered as having died when there is either irreversible cessation of circulation of blood and respiration, or total and irreversible cessation of all functions of the brain. Irreversible cessation of the blood circulation and respiration is determined according to ordinary standards of current medical practice, while total and irreversible cessation of all brain functions is made in accordance with the following criteria:
Conditions to be satisfied before determining irreversible cessation of all brain functions. Before tests are carried out to determine if all the functions of a person's brain have irreversibly ceased, the following conditions must be satisfied:
the person's condition must undoubtedly be due to irremediable structural brain damage and the diagnosis of any disorder which can lead to the irreversible cessation of all functions of the person's brain must be fully established;
there must be no suspicion that the person's condition is due to depressant drugs, hypothermia or metabolic and endocrine factors; and
the person's cessation of spontaneous respiration is not caused by neuromuscular blocking agents or other drugs.
Criteria for determining irreversible cessation of all brain functions. To determine the irreversible cessation of all functions of the brain of a person, tests must be carried out with the result that:
the pupils are fixed and non-reactive to strong light;
there is no corneal reflex;
there is no spontaneous motor response to painful stimulus, excluding spinal reflexes;
there is no oculocephalic reflex;
there is no gag reflex or reflex response to tracheobronchial stimulation;
there is no vestibulo-ocular response on instillation of 50 cc of ice-cold water into each ear; and
there is no spontaneous respiration even with carbon dioxide tension at 50 mm or more of mercury.
Where there is still a corneal reflex or spontaneous motor response to painful stimulus but all other criteria are satisfied, or where any of the criteria cannot be performed but the remaining criteria are satisfied, the irreversible cessation of all brain functions can be determined by a combination of the criteria that have been satisfied and the performance of a supplementary test.
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