In November 2012, capital punishment laws in Singapore were revised such that the mandatory death penalty for those convicted of drug trafficking or murder was lifted under certain specific conditions. Judges were empowered with the discretion to sentence such offenders to life imprisonment, which suggests the prisoner lives his entire natural life in jail with the possibility of appeal after 20 years (Before the landmark judgement of Abdul Nasir bin Amer Hamsah's appeal on 20 August 1997, a life sentence meant 20 years' imprisonment, and with one-third remission for good behaviour, it would be 13 years and 4 months for the offender receiving the said sentence). For more details, see below.