The huge crowds which filled the courtroom during Anthony...

The huge crowds which filled the courtroom during Anthony Ler's murder trial were noticeably absent during his appeal.
But the trademark smile he wore throughout his 11-day trial was still there, and it remained fixed in place even when he lost his bid against the death sentence.
Ler, 34, will go to the gallows for coercing a teenage boy to murder his estranged wife.
The Court of Appeal dismissed his case in a seven-minute hearing.
The 15-year-old boy who carried out the murder of Annie Leong, 30, an insurance agent, withdrew his appeal. On December 5, 2001, the teenager was found guilty of murder but was sentenced to be detained indefinitely instead of being hanged as he is under-aged.
That same day, the High Court also convicted Ler of instigating the boy to stab Leong to death on May 14, 2001. Ler trained the teenager to commit murder, cajoled him into doing the deed when he tried to back out, then forced him to go through with it by threatening to kill him.