The Singaporean Government ordered a theatre company to remove all references to the death penalty on Saturday, only a day after the Asian nation executed an Australian drug smuggler.

Melbourne resident Nguyen Tuong Van, 25, was hanged on Friday (02DEC05) after his 2003 conviction of carrying nearly 400 grams (14 ounces) of heroin from Cambodia to Australia, via Singapore.

Ahead of the Saturday (03DEC05) opening of HUMAN LEFTS, a play about the hanging of Singaporean drug courier SHANMUGAM MURUGESU, the government's Media Development Authority (MDA) demanded the director remove any mention of the death penalty or the name of any political leader.

Theatre director BENNY LIM says, "The plot is still the same, about a son and father, but it's so general I've applied a different story to it."