Steven Sing

Detective Steven Sing is a fictional character from the Saw franchise. He serves as a supporting protagonist in the first Saw film.

He was portrayed by Ken Leung.

Quick Answers

What role does Detective Steven Sing play in the Saw franchise?

In the Saw franchise, Detective Steven Sing, portrayed by Ken Leung, is a supporting protagonist in the initial film. Known for his dedication and focus, Sing works on the Jigsaw case, investigating several deaths linked to the notorious killer. His professional prowess is highlighted in his work on the Bilson murders. Sing is also a respected colleague and friend of David Tapp.

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Who portrayed Detective Steven Sing in the Saw films?

Ken Leung portrayed the character of Detective Steven Sing in the Saw franchise.

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What was the cause of death for Detective Sing's first victim in the Saw series?

In the Saw series, the first victim of Detective Steven Sing was Cecil Adams, a drug addict. Adams succumbed to blood loss in 1995 due to falling into a cage filled with razor wire. He had eight cuts on his face in parallel, and a piece of his skin was cut in the shape of a jigsaw, leading to the moniker 'Jigsaw' for the killer.

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What department did Detective Steven Sing work for in the Saw franchise?

In the Saw franchise, Detective Steven Sing served in the Metropolitan Police Department as a homicide detective. He contributed to numerous investigations, notably the Jigsaw case. His colleagues, including David Tapp, highly respected his commitment and concentration.

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How did Detective Steven Sing get involved in the serial killer case in the Saw series?

In the Saw series, Detective Steven Sing was assigned to a task force by Chief Jacobs to probe a series of murders attributed to Jigsaw. His colleagues on the task force included Detective David Tapp, Detective Allison Kerry, Detective Mark Hoffman, and crime scene investigator Jennings Foster. Sing and Tapp, during their investigation, found a man named Jeff Ridenhour bound to a mechanical chair, a signature of the serial killer they were pursuing.

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Biography

Cecil Adams' Death

Steven Sing was a homicide detective who worked for the Metropolitan Police Department. At some point in his career, Sing got involved in the investigation of a serial killer case. The first victim was a drug addict named Cecil Adams, who died of blood loss in early 1995 after falling into a cage filled with razor wire. He had eight parallel cuts on his face, and a jigsaw piece had been cut from his skin, leading to the killer being nicknamed "Jigsaw." (Saw, Saw IV)

Seth Baxter's Death

Years later, in June 2003, another victim of Jigsaw was found in a deadly trap. A man named Seth Baxter had been cut in half by a giant pendulum-shaped blade. Additionally, both of his hands had been crushed by two mechanical vises. It turned out that the man used to be the boyfriend of Angelina Acomb, the sister of one of Sing's colleagues, Detective Mark Hoffman. Seth had murdered her during a domestic dispute in 1997. Even though Seth received a life sentence in 1998, he was released from prison in May 2003 after five years due to a procedural error. Because of Hoffman's connection to Seth, Detective Allison Kerry undertook the investigation. (Saw V)

Paul Leahy's Death

The next victim that was found was a 46-years-old drug addict named Paul Leahy. Jigsaw had chosen him to participate in one of his gruesome games because Paul had sliced his wrists earlier, not because of depression but rather to attract attention. Therefore, Jigsaw had taken him to a cellar. The back part of the basement area was fenced-in and, thereby, basically turned into a cage. This cage was filled to the brim with razor wire. Upon examining the crime scene on March 19, 2004, the investigators found an audiotape, which Jigsaw had left for Paul. According to the tape, Paul was supposed to crawl through the razor wire to reach the exit door and save his life. However, the wounds he received in the process were so severe that he ultimately died of blood loss. When Sing and his partner, Detective David Tapp, arrived, Kerry presented them with the recording. Furthermore, she found a peephole in the door to the adjacent room, indicating that Jigsaw had been present during Paul's game and watched his demise. (Saw, Saw IV, Saw V)

Mark Wilson's Death

Shortly afterward, the detectives were called to another crime scene. The victim, a man named Mark Wilson, had been trapped inside a dark room with the only light source being a single candle. Furthermore, he was injected with a slow-acting poison and was informed by an audiotape that the only antidote was inside a safe. Mark had to find the correct combination among hundreds of numbers written all over the walls to save himself. This task was made even more difficult as the entire floor was covered with broken glass shards. Additionally, Mark's body was slathered with a jellylike, flammable substance. When walking around the room with the candle, Mark accidentally ignited the jelly, causing him to burn alive. While investigating the crime scene, Kerry noticed another peephole in one of the walls and informed Tapp and Sing that she had already found a similar one at the place of Paul's death. Furthermore, the detectives found a penlight and immediately sent it to the forensic lab. (Saw)

Amanda Young's Survival

Soon after Mark's body was found, Amanda Young, a drug addict, came to the police station after escaping a trap set up by Jigsaw. After a doctor examined her wounds, she was interrogated by Detective Tapp. Amanda told him how she had woken up at an unknown location and found herself strapped to a chair. While she was unconscious, Jigsaw had put a mechanical device on her head and hooked it into Amanda's upper and lower jaw. Amanda had received her instructions from a mechanical ventriloquist puppet named Billy, which spoke to her via a video recording. The doll described the device on her head as a "reverse bear trap," which would rip her mouth open if she did not manage to free herself within 60 seconds. To do so, she had to cut the key to the device from the stomach of her supposedly dead cellmate, Donnie Greco. When the tape ended, Amanda successfully freed herself from the chair and ultimately obtained the key by disemboweling her fellow prisoner, who was, in fact, still alive at that point. (Saw)

First Suspect

Shortly afterward, the forensic lab results came in, and the fingerprints on the penlight found at the scene of Mark Wilson's death were identified as those of Dr. Lawrence Gordon, a renowned oncologist. Tapp and Sing immediately went to Gordon's working place at the Angel of Mercy Hospital and waited for him in his office. They asked him about his whereabouts on the previous night between 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock. When Gordon asked Tapp why he wanted to know about this, the latter showed him the penlight with his fingerprints. After that, Gordon was taken to the police station for further interrogation. On the advice of his lawyer, Brett, he told the officers that he had met up with one of his medical trainees, Carla, with whom he had an affair.

Even though Carla confirmed his alibi, Detective Sing asked him to stay a little longer and listen to the interrogation of Amanda Young, whom they requested to repeat her testimony in Gordon's presence as they wanted to see his reaction. The doctor agreed and was visibly shocked as Amanda described her traumatic experience, and even more so when Sing told him that Amanda's fellow prisoner was still alive and merely paralyzed with an opiate overdose when she cut him open. When Tapp asked her if she was grateful for what Jigsaw had done to her, she answered that he had helped her. However, despite this, she was still traumatized by those events and burst into tears. After the interrogation, Tapp drove Gordon home and implied that he still was not entirely convinced of the doctor's innocence. (Saw)

Jigsaw's Hideout

Soon afterward, Tapp further examined the video found at the scene of Amanda Young's game. When Sing was about to leave work, he asked him to go to the bar at the corner for an after-work beer with him and their colleagues, which Tapp declined with thanks as he wanted to continue his examination. Sing joked that Tapp should find himself a girlfriend and was about to leave the room when Tapp held him back upon spotting a graffito on a wall behind Jigsaw's puppet. This graffito was associated with K2K, a small gang from 118th street. Besides that, Tapp heard a fire alarm in the background and ordered Sing to check the recent fire reports for the area. With Sing's assistance, he ultimately found out about a fire in a rear house close to an abandoned mannequin factory at 213 Stygian Street. Although they did not expect to get a warrant, the detectives left the police station and went to the factory.

Minutes later, Tapp and Sing arrived at the factory. Armed with a shotgun, Sing broke through the front door and entered the building, followed by Tapp, who gave him cover. Upon going upstairs and examining the location, they found the K2K graffito and recognized it as the same one from the video. When they searched the hideout, they found a box with tiny figures that the killer had used to visualize another deadly game, which Jigsaw had already planned for the future. Furthermore, they found a pig mask used by Jigsaw for abducting his victims and the mechanical ventriloquist puppet that had given Amanda Young the instructions for her game. Moments later, they suddenly caught a sound coming from under a large red cloth. Upon investigating the noise, they discovered a man named Jeff Ridenhour strapped to a mechanical chair. However, when they wanted to free him, they heard a nearby elevator. Eager to finally arrest the killer, Sing initially refused to follow Tapp's order, who told him to hide until they got a better look at Jigsaw, but ultimately gave in. The detectives quickly put the cloths back on Jeff and the puppet and went into hiding. (Saw)

Death

Moments later, Jigsaw arrived, disguised with a black cloak and hood. Tapp and Sing observed him as he approached Jeff and told him that he would become a test subject for one of his gruesome projects. At this moment, the detectives left their hiding spot and aimed their weapons at Jigsaw. Jigsaw reacted quickly and activated the mechanical chair by stepping on a pressure button on the floor. Thereby, two drills started to approach Jeff's head from both sides. While Sing desperately tried to deactivate the contraption, Tapp held Jigsaw at gunpoint. Even though Jigsaw told them that the key to the trap was in a box next to Jeff, Sing could not find the right one in time as there were dozens of keys attached to the key ring. In the last nick of time, Sing saved Jeff nonetheless by shooting the drills. However, the shots distracted Tapp and allowed Jigsaw to slash his throat with a hidden blade and run away. Sing pursued him and shot him in a hallway, causing him to collapse. Thinking that he was dead, Sing approached his body and thereby stepped on a tripwire. This carelessness proved to be fatal as the wire triggered another trap, which caused Sing to be killed by four shotguns attached to a ceiling beam. Afterward, Jigsaw, who wore bulletproof body armor under his cloak, left the factory without any significant injuries. (Saw)

Post-Mortem

Tapp, who survived his injury, was saved later on, along with Jeff Ridenhour. However, he suffered a mental breakdown due to his role in Sing's death. Sing's corpse was then taken to the morgue, where Dr. Adam Heffner performed the autopsy on his body. After Jigsaw's death at the hands of Jeff Denlon, another one of his victims, on the night of April 28, 2006, Sing and his deceased colleagues - Daniel Rigg, Eric Matthews, David Tapp, and Allison Kerry - were given a memorial. A picture of him stood next to those of his colleagues. On this occasion, Detective Hoffman and the Chief of Police each delivered a speech to honor them and their efforts. (Saw III, Saw V, Saw VI)

Personality

Steven Sing was one of the youngest detectives who worked on the Jigsaw case and therefore followed the orders of his longer-serving colleagues most of the time. He seemed to be very popular with most of his colleagues, including David Tapp. While he was not as obsessed with the case as some of his colleagues, he was just as eager as them to arrest Jigsaw and end his games. Due to his friendship with Tapp and the latter's working experience, he trusted him almost blindly, which was why he agreed to enter Jigsaw's hideout without a warrant when Tapp said so without any hesitation.

Trivia

• According to Rich Skidmore, host of the Full Disclosure Report Sing was 28 years old when he died.
• In an earlier draft of the script of Saw III, Jeff Denlon was supposed to pass the hallway where Sing was killed and find his rotting body, indicating that the police never discovered the mannequin factory after the events of the first film.
• In the scene when he entered Jigsaw's hideout, Sing was played by Leigh Whannell as actor Ken Leung unavailable at the shooting date.

Appearances and References