2008 in Singapore

← 2007 2006 2005 2008 in Singapore → 2009 2010 2011
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events of 2008 Timeline of Singaporean history

The following lists events that happened during 2008 in the Republic of Singapore.

Incumbents

• President: S.R. Nathan
• Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong

Events

• 9 January – Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 opens for operations.
• 15 to 16 February – Chingay Parade of Dreams took place at Marina Bay.
• 19 to 24 February – Singapore Airshow 2008 was held at the Changi Exhibition Centre.
• 21 February- The President of IOC, Jacques Rogge announces that Singapore will host the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.^[1]
• 1 March – The Singapore Flyer officially opens.
• 23 May – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Pedra Branca to Singapore and Middle Rocks to Malaysia, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
• 28 March to 6 April – Singapore Fashion Festival 2008
• 23 May to 20 July – Great Singapore Sale
• 4 to 27 July – Singapore Food Festival 2008
• 25 July to 1 August – Singapore Garden Festival 2008
• 9 August – Singapore celebrated her 43rd (XLIII) year of independence with National Day Parade, 2008.
• 17 August – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong read out his annual National Day Rally speeches. The theme for National Day Rally 2008 was Celebrating our Singapore Story.
• 22 & 23 August – Singapore Fireworks Celebrations in Marina Bay. The theme was The World Celebrates with Us.
• 11 September to 16 November – Singapore Biennale 2008
• 20 September – The Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway was fully opened.
• 1 October – Bus and train fares to be adjusted by 0.7%.
• 19 October – MediaCorp launches two free-to-air TV channels, okto and Vasantham, to replace Central.
• 15 November to 2 January 2009 – Christmas in the Tropics 2008
• 23 December – Singapore Flyer stops turning due to technical problems.

Law

• 9 January – In the Taw Cheng Kong case, for the first time in Singapore's history the High Court strikes down a statutory provision as unconstitutional, holding that it is inconsistent with Article 12(1) of the Constitution. (The decision is reversed by the Court of Appeal later that year.)
• 27 February – Singapore's most wanted terror fugitive, Mas Selamat bin Kastari, escaped from detention under the country's Internal Security Act.^[2]

Sports

• 8 – 24 August – Team Singapore took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
• 17 August – Singapore won its first Olympic medal since independence in Women's Table Tennis team event, 48 years after its first medal--also a silver—by Tan Howe Liang in the 1960 Summer Olympics, on 17 August 2008.^[3][4][5]
• 6 – 17 September Team Singapore took part in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.
• 7 September – Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore took place.
• 9 September – Singapore won its first-ever Paralympic medal, a bronze, through Equestrian by Laurentia Tan.^[6]
• 11 September – Laurentia Tan won the second Equestrian bronze medal.^[7]
• 13 September – Swimmer Yip Pin Xiu won the country's first silver medal at the Paralympics.^[8]
• 15 September – Yip Pin Xiu won Singapore's first gold medal at the Paralympics. Team Singapore won a total of 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze in the 2008 Summer Paralympics.^[9]
• 28 September – Singapore hosts a leg of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, called the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix.

Deaths

• 4 January – Jimmy Nah
• 7 January – Robert Chandran
• 8 February – Ah Meng
• 8 February – Chua Ek Kay
• 14 July – Ong Chit Chung
• 30 September – Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam
• 3 October – Teo Soo Chuan
• 28 November – Lo Hwei Yen (A Singaporean held hostage killed during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks)

Notes

1. "INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE – NEWS". 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
2. "JI detainee Mas Selamat Kastari escapes from Singapore detention centre". Channel NewsAsia. 27 February 2008. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
3. ir. "Olympics: First medal in 48 years for Singapore". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
4. "Singapore into table tennis final". BBC. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
5. "Olympics: Singapore paddlers settle for silver in women's team final". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
6. Ryan Huang. "Paralympics: Singapore wins first-ever medal through Equestrian". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
7. Tan Yo-Hinn. "Paralympics: Singapore's Laurentia Tan wins second Equestrian bronze". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
8. Lynda Hong. "Swimmer Yip Pin Xiu clinches Singapore's first silver at Paralympics". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
9. Tan Yo-Hinn. "Paralympics: Swimmer Pin Xiu is Singapore's golden girl". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2008-09-16.