A/HRC/31/57/Add.1 490. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Singapore for its reply, dated 23 December 2015, to the present communication. He takes note of the information provided by the Government that the physical assault Mr. X suffered was at the hands of a member of the public who was prosecuted for the offence; that Mr. X was housed in a cell with an adult for only a few hours; that the lights in his cell were kept on at night to facilitate monitoring of juvenile detainees; that he was restrained in a medical ward for one day due to suicidal ideation; and that while held in the Institute of Mental Health, he was not handcuffed, not kept in solitary confinement, was free to contact his parents, and had daily access to medical services. 491. In spite of the information supplied by the Government, its reply fails to inform the Rapporteur of the results of any investigation into the alleged ill -treatment of Mr. X. The Special Rapporteur reminds the government of Singapore of the obligation to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into whether Mr. X suffered torture or ill treatment, as required by customary international law and codified in Article 12 of the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The Special Rapporteur further reminds the Government of its obligations to prevent, investigate and punish all acts of torture and ill treatment under customary international law as codified by Articles 1, 2, and 16 of the Convention Against Torture (CAT). 492. The Special Rapporteur would further like to draw the Government’s attention to his interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), in which the Rapporteur defined solitary confinement, in accordance with the Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of Solitary Confinement, as the physical and social isolation of individuals who are confined in their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. He observed that while solitary confinement for short periods of time may be justified under certain circumstances, with adequate and effective safeguards in place, the use of prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement may never constitute a legitimate instrument of the State and it runs afoul of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In addition, solitary confinement even of short duration is absolutely prohibited when applied to children (see A/HRC/28/68). 493. In the absence of an independent investigation concluding the contrary, the Special Rapporteur finds that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, available via the link above, and is therefore of the view that the Government of Singapore, by failing to protect the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. X, has violated his right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by customary international law as codified by articles 2 and 16 of the Convention against Torture. (b) JUA 30/10/2015 Case No. SGP 3/2015 State Reply: None to date Allegations concerning the imminent execution of Mr. Kho Jabing, a Malaysian national sentenced to death for murder by a Singaporean court 494. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Singapore has not replied to the present communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/13. 495. As observed by the Special Rapporteur in his 2012 report to the General Assembly (A/67/279), there is evidence of an evolving standard within international bodies and a robust State practice to frame the debate about the legality of the death penalty within the context of the fundamental concepts of human dignity and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This evolving standard, along with the resulting illegality of the death penalty under such prohibition, is developing into a norm of customary law, if it has not already done so (para. 74). Even if this customary norm is still under way, the Special Rapporteur considers that most conditions under which 84