SINGAPORE — 2012 · Suspicious Death

The Death of Engineer Shane Todd

ClosedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

Shane Todd, an American engineer working at Singapore's state-run Institute of Microelectronics, was found hanged in his home in Singapore in June 2012. Police treated the death as suicide. His family, however, argued that he had been killed over a sensitive semiconductor project linked to a Chinese technology company, which he had feared could endanger US national security. The claims became an international controversy after the Financial Times published them in February 2013; the institute and the company denied any such collaboration. The family walked out of the coroner's inquiry in May 2013. In July 2013 the coroner ruled the death a suicide, citing findings backed by two independent US medical examiners; the family rejected the verdict.

Date: 2012
Place: Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, SG
Category: Suspicious Death
Case Status: Closed
Coordinates: 1.3000, 103.8300 ↗

Timeline of Events

June 2012Shane Todd was found dead in his home in Singapore.
February 2013The family's murder claims were published by the Financial Times.
13 May 2013The coroner's inquiry opened in Singapore.

23 May 2013The family withdrew from the hearings, saying they had lost trust in the inquiry.
8 July 2013The coroner ruled the death a suicide.

Sources

Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.