Michael P. Fay

Michael Peter Fay (born May 30, 1975) is a US citizen who was the subject of international attention in 1994 when he was sentenced to six strokes of the cane in Singapore for theft and vandalism at age 18. Although caning is a routine court sentence in Singapore, its unfamiliarity to Americans caused controversy, and Fay's case was believed to be the first caning involving an American citizen. The number of cane strokes in Fay's sentence was ultimately reduced from six to four after U.S. officials requested leniency.

Michael Fay was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His mother, Randy, divorced his father, George, when he, Michael, was eight. As a child, Michael was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, which, his lawyer later claimed, made Fay not responsible for his eventual sentencing for vandalism in Singapore.

Although Fay mostly lived with his father after the divorce, he later moved to Singapore to live with his mother and his stepfather, Marco Chan, and was enrolled in the Singapore American School.

In October 1993, The Straits Times, Singapore's main English-language newspaper, reported that car vandalism in Singapore was on the rise. Cars parked at apartment blocks were being damaged with hot tar, paint remover, red spray paint, and hatchets. Taxi drivers complained that their tires were slashed. In the city center, cars were found with deep scratches and dents. One man complained that he had to refinish his car six times in six months.

The police eventually arrested 16-year-old Andy Shiu Chi Ho from Hong Kong. He was not caught vandalizing cars, but was charged with driving his father's car without a license. After questioning Shiu, the police questioned several expatriate students from the Singapore American School, including Fay, and charged them with more than fifty counts of vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing the cars in addition to stealing road signs. He later maintained that he was advised that such a plea would preclude caning and that his confession was false, that he never vandalized any cars, and that the only crime he committed was stealing signs.

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