1.   And on some issues, like the passage of a law here to stiffen sentences for three-time offenders, Ms. Mackay said Republicans were going too far.

2.   Prosecutors asked the Supreme Court to stiffen the sentences.

3.   Under Singapore law, a judge can stiffen a sentence if the judge feels for any reason that an appeal was frivolous.

4.   Aggravating circumstances such as group rape or rape of a child would allow courts to stiffen sentences.

5.   He was released last July pending an appeal, but the Supreme Court stiffened the sentence rather than just upholding it.

6.   Proposed legislation to stiffen sentences for drug smuggling has been in limbo since a new government took power after a close general election in May.

7.   A court in the south of the country also stiffened a sentence imposed on a senior policeman for the murder of two men after a high-speed chase.