True Files


True Files is an English language television docu-drama telecast on MediaCorp Channel 5, with each episode re-enacting major court proceedings, mostly of murder, in Singapore. When the inaugural season was telecast in 2002, its first episode was re-slotted to be telecast later, when numerous public feedback was received by the station complaining that it was too graphic after watching trailers for the pilot episode. The show was also pushed back to a 10 p.m. time slot from the fourth episode onwards as a result. Nonetheless, the hype helped the show to enjoy favourable viewership ratings. Over five years, a total of five seasons had been telecasted, with the final season airing in 2007.
The show was hosted and narrated by veteran actor Lim Kay Tong from Seasons 1 to 4. In Season 5, the host is Tay Ping Hui, and the narration is done by Brian Richmond.
Currently, the show is viewable on meWATCH. 60 out of 62 episodes is available on the said website from 5 February 2016 onwards.

Episodes

Season 1 (Thursdays, 10.00 p.m. (Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m. for 1st to 3rd episodes)

  • 1. : Gold Bars Triple Murders
  • 2. : The Trial of Mimi Wong
  • 3. : Cries of A Child
  • 4. : The Trial of Adrian Lim
  • 5. : Who Killed Winnie Spencer?
  • 6. : The Tenant
  • 7. : The Trial of Sunny Ang
  • 8. : The Sentry
  • 9. : The Paedophile
  • 10. : The Horror!
  • 11. : Trusting Your Killer
  • 12. : Murder For Coins
  • 13. : The Burnt Body Case
  • 14. : Tourist From Hell

Season 2 (Tuesdays, 10.00 p.m.)

  • 1. : Murder He Wrote
  • 2. : Triple Murder
  • 3. : Maid Abused To Death
  • 4. : The School Bus Driver
  • 5. : Murder Of Inspector T. Maniam
  • 6. : The Duck Den Murder
  • 7. : Murder Of Her Landlady
  • 8. : Murder Of The Italian Lady
  • 9. : Found Insane
  • 10. : Child Raped
  • 11. : Jealousy Knows No Limit
  • 12. : The Male Woman
  • 13. : The Story Of Koh Swee Beng

Season 3 (Mondays, 10.00 p.m.)

  • 1. : The Pulau Senang Trial
  • 2. : Rich Man, Poor Man
  • 3. : The Fiancée's Father
  • 4. : The Trial of Father Joachim Kang
  • 5. : Killed By His Mother's Lover
  • 6. : Death On Pulau Ubin
  • 7. : The Tooth Fragment
  • 8. : The Moving Mini Murder
  • 9. : Girl Thrown To Her Death
  • 10. : Rage
  • 11. : Fatal Step
  • 12. : Unsolved

Season 4 (Sundays 10.00 p.m.)

  • 1. : The Bukit Merah Maid Trial
  • 2. : Serial Rapist
  • 3. : Itch To Kill
  • 4. : Baby Killer
  • 5. : Bungled Burglary
  • 6. : Headless Corpse
  • 7. : Murder of the Caretaker
  • 8. : Deaf Mute Dead
  • 9. : Transvestite Killed
  • 10. : Death in the Bath
  • 11. : Fall Of Death
  • 12. : Car Boot Murder
  • 13. : Mistaken

Season 5 (Sundays, 10.00 p.m. (Monday for fifth episode)

  • 1. : The Peeping Tom Trial
  • 2. : Murder by Car
  • 3. : Gun Siege
  • 4. : Death At 13
  • 5. : Strangled by Sari
  • 6. : The Orchard Towers Double Murder
  • 7. : Thai Pimp Killed
  • 8. : The Shenton Way Shootout
  • 9. : Morbid Jealousy
  • 10. : The Maid

Trivia

  • The legal consultant for Seasons 1 and 2 is Senior Counsel R Palakrishnan. After Palakrishnan died in July 2003, the same year as Season 2's first telecast, Subhas Anandan becomes the new legal consultant for this docu-drama from Season 3 onwards, which first aired in the following year.
  • The closing credits for Seasons 1 and 2 flipped from page to page on a black screen, accompanied by random music. In Season 3, the closing credits scrolled from bottom-to-top in a red background similar to a scene in the opening sequence, featuring the allegory of justice found at the entrance of the Old [Supreme Court Building, Singapore|old Supreme Court building in Singapore]; as well as accompaniment by only the opening theme music. This background and music continued to be used for closing credits in Seasons 4 and 5, except that the credits flipped from page to page as per Seasons 1 and 2.
  • The front gate of Changi Prison, despite appearing in the opening sequence throughout the first season, only appeared as a background in one of the last episodes for that season, The Burnt Body Case, when the date of execution for that accused was revealed near to the end of the episode. This background would continue to be used at the end of most episodes in Seasons 2 and 3, either revealing the date of execution or the verdict for the accused, or any important information or records. It was last used in Fatal Step, the second last episode of Season 3 and the last episode in that season to feature a High Court case.