Singapore — The Ten Courts of Hell, Haw Par Villa (虎豹别墅), 262 Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore
Visiting the 10 Courts of Hell in Singapore
May 2015
The 10 Courts of Hell can be found in Haw Par Villa (虎豹别墅), 262 Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore, and you even get free entry to experience them!
I don’t know what to say about the Courts besides that they were weird as they showed scenes depicting bizarre violence and torture as punishments for the crimes.
At the Courts of Hell entrance are ‘Ox-Head’ and ‘Horse-Face’, which are the guardians of the Underworld in Chinese mythology.
The First Court of Hell — King Qinguang
In the first Court of Hell, King Qinguang judges each person against the deeds in their life. If the person was ‘good’, they leave the court, via the golden bridge, to enter paradise. If the person has done more ‘good’ than ‘evil’, they leave the court by the silver bridge and enter paradise.
However, those who have done more ‘evil’ than ‘good’ are sent to repent in front of the ‘Mirror of Retribution’ and then taken to the appropriate ‘Court of Hell’, as a prisoner, for their punishment.
Each of the 10 Courts of Hell is for a specific set of crimes, and each Court within hell is presided over by a King, or Yama, who is responsible for judging and carrying out the punishments. For each of the following Courts, I will give the King (Yama), the crimes, and the associated punishments in brackets.
The Second Court of Hell — King Chujiang
The Second Court (King Chujiang) was for prisoners who had inflicted physical injury on others (Punishment: Thrown into a volcanic pit); conmen, robbers, corruption, stealing and gambling (Punishment: Frozen into a block of ice); and prostitution (Punishment: Thrown into a pool of blood and drowned).
The Third Court of Hell — King Songdi
The Third Court (King Songdi) was for: ungratefulness, disrespect to elders, escape from prison (Punishment: Heart cut out); drug addicts and traffickers, tomb robbers, and urging people into crime or social unrest (Punishment: Tied to a red-hot copper pillar and grilled).
The Fourth Court of Hell — King Wuguan
The Fourth Court (King Wuguan) was reserved for prisoners who were tax dodgers, had committed business fraud or who had refused to pay their rent (Punishment: Pounded with a stone mallet); and for disobedience to one’s siblings or lack of filial piety (Punishment: Ground with a large stone).
The Fourth Court also contained ‘Wang-Si’ Town, where people who were wronged or driven to take their life would stay so that they could watch their enemies receive punishment. Once they had watched their enemies being punished, these people would then be judged and sent to the appropriate Court for punishment.
The Fifth Court of Hell — King Yanluo
The Fifth Court (King Yanluo) was for prisoners who had plotted another person’s death to gain their property or money and for moneylenders with exorbitant interest rates (Punishment: Thrown onto a hill of knives). The court also had a viewing tower so their relatives and family could watch the punishment.
The Sixth Court of Hell — King Piencheng
The Sixth Court of Hell (King Piencheng) was for prisoners who have cheated, cursed or abducted others (Punishment: Thrown onto a tree of knives); and for the misuse of books, the possession of pornographic material, breaking written rules and regulations, and wasting food (Punishment: Body sawn in two).
The Seventh Court of Hell — King Taishan
The Seventh Court (King Taishan) was the court to which rumour-mongers and sowers of discord among family members (Punishment: Tongue pulled out) were sent; and for rapists and people who had driven another person to their death (Punishment: Thrown into boiling oil).
The Eighth Court of Hell — King Dushi
The Eighth Court (King Dushi) was reserved for people who lacked filial obedience, caused trouble for their parents and family members, or cheated during examinations (Punishment: Intestines and organs pulled out). The court was also for prisoners who had harmed others for the benefit of themselves (Punishment: Body dismemberment).
The Ninth Court of Hell — King Pingdeng
The Ninth Court (King Pingdeng) — robbery, murder, rape and any other unlawful offence (Punishment: Head and arms chopped off); and for neglect of the old and the young (Punishment: Crushed under boulders).
The Tenth Court of Hell — King Zhuanlun
The Tenth Court (King Zhuanlun) contained the ‘Wheel of Reincarnation’ and the ‘Pavilion of Forgetfulness’ (‘Men-Po’ Pavilion).
In the Court, at which the prisoners of the Circles of Hell finally arrived after they had been punished, King Zhuanlun passed the final judgement. Next, the prisoners moved on to the ‘Pavilion of Forgetfulness’ where ‘Men Po’ (an old lady) handed them a magic cup of tea, which, when drunk, made them forget their past lives.
Once the tea has been drunk, and their crimes are forgotten, the next stop was the ‘Wheel of Reincarnation’, which, depending on the person’s past life, determined whether they were to be reborn as an animal or a human. And, if they were to be reborn as a human, was it into a life of hardship and sorrow, or ease and comfort?
So, the Ten Courts of Hell are an interesting and bizarre place, and I am not sure what to make of them. The groupings of crimes were strange, and the punishments were inventive and weird. At the end of your punishment, you forget it all (so have you learnt anything?), and then you are reincarnated as either an animal or a human to a life of comfort or hardship.
