A 23-year-old Malaysian man is set to be hanged in Singapore for murdering an eight-year-old mainland Chinese girl, court officials said today.

Former vegetable market worker Took Leng How, who was found guilty last year of murdering Huang Na and lost his appeal this week, intends to seek clemency from President SR Nathan as a last resort.

"We got about three months to do it so we will not rush into it yet," Took's lawyer, Subhas Anandan, told AFP.

The three-man Court of Appeal in a split decision upheld Took's death penalty sentence yesterday. One judge said there was reasonable doubt that the girl might have died from a fit.

Celebrated case

The case of Huang Na, the daughter of Took's co-worker, became a celebrated one in Singapore after the girl was reported missing.

Volunteers joined an island-wide search that ended when her naked and decomposing body was found stuffed in a box at a hill park.

Took, who was known to be close to the girl, fled Singapore during the investigation but surrendered in Malaysia and was brought back for trial.

The death penalty is mandatory for murder and drug trafficking in Singapore, and is only carried out by hanging.