Top Story, Uncategorized - Written on Friday, October 16, 2009 1:15 - 78 Comments
World Day Against the Death Penalty 2009 – A Singapore Forum
Report by Ravi Philemon
Photos by Jeremy Philemon
THE Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign, commemorated the World Day Against the Death Penalty by organising a forum on 10 October 2009, and calling on the Singapore government to join 139 states throughout the world that have ceased executions in law or practice.
The Campaign also used the event to plead for clemency for Yong Vui Kong, a 21-year-old Malaysian who has been sentenced to death for drug trafficking. He was 19 when he was caught for drug trafficking in June 2007.
Mr Alfian Sa’at moderated the forum and Mr Seelan Palay, an artist and activist, kick-started the forum by presenting actual case studies of people who have been executed in Singapore. He emphasised the point that Singapore is estimated to have one of the highest per capita execution rates in the world.
Mr M Ravi spoke next and said that a mandatory death sentence is a cruel and inhuman punishment because even if the defendant’s lawyer is able to adduce fresh evidence or canvass a new argument which has merits, in both situations, after an appeal has been heard by the Court of Appeal, the court system in Singapore, does not have the power to re-open a case where an appeal had already been heard and dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
Mr Ravi mentioned that in one particular case, when he asked the Chief Justice if the public prosecutor was “still maintaining that an innocent man be hanged because of procedure”, the Chief Justice answered, “Yes, the answer is yes”.
He said that this clearly shows that there is a serious defect in our legal system, since it has been undeniably stated by the Chief Justice himself that an innocent man can be hanged because of procedures.
Ms Agnes Chia a social worker, who came on next, said that the core values of social work are the dignity and worth of individuals and unconditional positive regard for people, regardless of life situations.
Social work believes that people have “an innate ability to change”, because an individual’s behaviour affects and is affected by his or her social environment. Many in the forum applauded when Ms Chia said that hopes that more social workers in Singapore will speak up and advocate for the abolishment of death penalty in Singapore.
Ms Braema Mathi, a human rights activist and the president of MARUAH (Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism) who spoke next emphasised the point that we must not forget the fact that this individuals have committed a “blunder”, but that those who commit blunders, should be given the opportunity to be rehabilitated; and that mandatory death penalty, takes away this opportunity from those sentenced mandatorily to the death penalty.
Mr Alex Au a blog owner, summed up the Forum and said that abolishment of the death penalty is a battle between ideas and values. That “the other side” believes in an idea that death is an appropriate penalty for those who commit certain crimes, irrespective of what scientific statistics might say, or over the value that every life is dignified. He encouraged everyone present to “talk to people about death penalty”, “go out and tell stories” and to “convince the other side”.
The forum was then opened to the people of the floor for comments and questions. The brother of Yong Vui Kong then addressed the people from the floor and he took the opportunity to apologise to the people of Singapore for the crime this brother has committed.
He said how his mother, who is suffering from severe depression, is kept from receiving the news that his brother faces the death penalty. He also pleaded with the President of Singapore to grant clemency to his brother.
After some very touching comments and questions from the floor, the forum ended with a call for those present to sign the petition urging the President of Singapore to grant clemency to Yong Vui Kong.
Killed in your name
My heart goes out to the family of Yong Vui Kong and his family. He was in the prime of his youth (19), when he was caught for the offence of drug-trafficking. An age when you think that you are invincible, an age where you are most subjected to peer-pressure, and age where many costly mistakes are made. And to deprive a mother of the knowledge that her son is facing impending death, to me is crueller than the noose of the hangman. But in the case of Vui Kong’s mother, it is probably in her best interest right now for the news to be kept from her.
I support the abolishment of mandatory death penalty and support the call for the Courts in Singapore to be granted revisionary powers over all cases which carry the death penalty.
I agree with Mr Au that the people, who believe in this cause, should talk to people about the death penalty and “go out and tell a story”; because stories have the power to change ideas.
But unfortunately, the people on “the other side” are the majority who support the death penalty for various reasons including it being measures for deterrence, retribution, law and order and incapacitation.
It will be very difficult for elected legislators to push for the abolishment of mandatory death sentence even if they personally believe in it, as they are but the representative of the majority who voted them in.
So, tell stories we must, especially to our children, as they are tomorrow’s citizens, politicians, defendants, judges and lawyers and the world’s future is in their hands.
It is also important who tells the story. The story must be told not just by the elites and the activists, but it must be told by the converts and the common man.
In telling the story, the story-teller must not trivialise the offense committed as a mistake or ‘blunder’, for the fact is, it is something graver than a mere blunder – it is a crime. The story-teller must be able to answer queries and criticisms like who determines if the offender has an “innate ability to change”?
In the meantime, as the rest of Singapore winds down to enjoy the long weekend, the person on the death-row goes into high anxiety as he does not know if it will be his last weekend; for in Singapore, the hangings take place on the Friday, and he is given four days notice of his execution on the Monday. And what is worse is, he will never touch his loved even one last time, before he is executed by the state on the behalf of the citizens – he is killed in your name.
—————————–
Volunteers from Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign will be on standby with the petition at Hanis Cafe at the Central Library (the one closest to Bugis MRT) from 2pm to 6pm on this Saturday, October 17, 2009.
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78 Comments
Dude thats really quite a flawed way to reason about it. The whole article is against the death penalty itself and is about introducing a structural change. Its focus is not about being against individual instances of the death penalty although they are canvassing for that poor bloke.
” If you don’t want death penalty, then don’t commit crimes that have death penalty”
thats like saying…….If you don’t want to get your hands and feet chopped off publicly then don’t steal. Sure its easy to tell people not to steal, but do you want to live in a society where the state does that to people?
eh you talk so big would you still feel the same way if your brother or father was going to be hanged?
I will rather use this incident to tell me kids that crime does not pay, and trying to earn quick and big bucks at the expense of runing and wretching another person’s life is something that you would need to pay back dearly.
I support the death penalty, and urged those hypocrites campaigning for the abolishment to also start thinking and considering the plights and heartaches of those lives being ruined by Yong Vui Kong’s crime!
By the way, can these campaigners also guarantee that this Yong Vui Kong will not go back to his old trick? How sure are you?
2) f o dude on October 16th, 2009 7.00 am
Hey,you talk so big…would you feel the same way if your loved ones,kids or family members are victims of heinous crime?
One of the example I can give is the Bali bombing…Lots of aussie were killed in that incident. Even though Australia condemn death penalty, there were cheers all around when the attackers were sentenced to death.
How come there were no protest then?
My take is Death penalty is still valid in this time and day…There are so called humans out there in the world that behaves more like savages than human…
Let the punishment fit the crime…
“eh you talk so big would you still feel the same way if your brother or father was going to be hanged? ”
I’m sorry, but yes. Even if he is a friend or family. You think before you put your head on the line. I’ll try to stop them, but if they go ahead, I’ll just give up.
“I told you so.”
How can you hang a minor, for whatever reason. He should be rehabilitated, be given a 2nd chance.
1) Dude
You will make a mistake one day and pay dearly for it. Karma has a way of finding it’s way around to shove it up yours where the sun doesn’t shine.
Perhaps the real problem is that the law is perceived as a moral guide to those under it. Yet it is immoral to say there is a need to murder someone, whatever the reason.
There is a difference between abolishing death penalty and abolishing mandatory death penalty. Perhaps abolishing mandatory death penalty may be more palatable for the majority now.
Ris Low got away with 24 months probation for credit card fraud because at the time of offence, she is only 19 years old.
She has 60 offence taken into consideration, I guess the first in court history to have so many cases TIC.
She went on to win Miss Singapore.
In comparison, this young boy, committed the offence when he was also at the tender age of 19. Given his background, the bad company he is with and the immaturity at his age, what I see is a young boy being led astray and one who couldn’t quite tell the seriousness of the offence.
Ris Low committed the offence more than 60 times until the law caught up with her. It was Yong’s first and his mitigation plea was not taken into consideration when the verdict of death was dealt on him.
This is a life, a young life we are talking about.
Is our society so cold blooded that condone taking another person life?
Risky Low, are you also not cold-blooded to the runining of lifes caused by Yong’s crimes, and the kind of society and health issues it creates?
Are you also not cold-blooded to the heartache and sorrows of family members who witnessed how someone dearest to them are totally ruined by the effects of illegal drugs?
4) Life For Life
Killing the trafficker doesn’t solve the problem…can’t you see it…the root will still grow….the distributor and the druglord are still at large and they will get others crony to do their work
if you want to solve the problem, kill it off at its roots if not it will just come back again like these cases.
12) No Drugs, No Death!
Are you the same as 4? Then why don’t you solve the problem and take our druglords and the local distributors? who can sit back, shake legs and enjoy the riches….
and how will you feel if you are like the african boy, who didn’t know that he was carrying drugs and was executed because of it?
12) No Drugs, No Death!
When there is demand, then there will be a supply….instead of blaming others for ruining their lifes, they could have make the choice and say no….so stop blaming others…
I’m pretty torn about this. How about serial murderers or rapists (which I believe is one of the most deplorable things to do)? How about murderers who kill the young? Sentence them to life imprisonment?
Thanks Yamamoto for the response to NDND, my exact sentiment.
Temptation would be abound, instead of blaming the temptation, why not work on how to resist the temptation?
Educating the public on the danger and effect of drug consumption will be more effective.
As what the animal rights group slogan I remember long time ago, “when the buying stop, the killing stop”.
Going by NDND’s logic, I was reminded of our government selling arms to Burmese Junta.
No arms no death, why aren’t they send to the gallows for selling arms that causes the death of the monks?
16/10/09
My stand for Death Penalty is must be maintained at all costs in Singaporea and no mercies must be shown to those Drugs Trafficers which must be included those educated mastermind (I know what I am talking about, perhaps some of the readers know my story ie I have a only very rich brother who is a Drugs Syndicate Mastermind based in Penang (also has millions of investment in Singapore). These people living in Super Luxuries and made millions. Despite the introduction of Death Penalty since day one we still see these Drugs Traffickers using Singapore as their based including investing their millions of their drugs monies in Singapore.
To conclude, no mercies must be shown to these Drugs Traffickers charged and convicted and given the Death Penalty. This Death Penalty is an uncompromised issue and I am prepared to hang my only very rich brother if I have a choice.
Regards
Andrew Chuah
While I agree that drug trafficking does not warrant a death penalty (after all, the drug itself was confiscated and the trafficker has not succeeded in transferring such poison to potential victims), death penalty per se, should remain and be reserved for heinous crimes.
This includes murder, slavery and rebellion. If putting to death such pest of human society to prevent another family from falling to grief, then so be it. There will be always two sides to the story. We can always ask how we would feel if it is our dear ones who will be put to death and we can always ask how we would feel if our dear ones were murdered and the murderer goes unpunished or lightly punished.
just throwing a spanner in the works -
talking about ‘punishment’ and letting the perpetuator go off lightly.. i wonder which one makes the perpetuator suffer more – death? or a long prison term during which he has time to reflect and come to realization the suffering he has caused… and the pain he has to go through to reconcil it.
My opinion is that there are those who are willing to do the crime which comes with death penalty might already have a death wish… so if we sentence them to death, is that really ‘punishment’ anyway?
16/10/09
Hi BTan & Zefly-I noted your posting and let us not compromise and go all out and maintain the Death Penalty for Drugs Traffickers and if possible include those educated mastermind. Despite Death Penalty, we continue to see Drugs Traffickers using Singapore as their based or transit and those super rich educated Drugs Mastermind like my only very rich brother (also educated in NUS with a Master) investing his drugs monies-tens of millions in Singapore.
As far as I am concerned and Alive, being a Singaporean born Chinese, I shall never compromise and if I can I will hand my only very rich brother and his wife and all her family (they are Penang based).
Regards
Andrew Chuah
From the article:Mr Ravi mentioned that in one particular case, when he asked the Chief Justice if the public prosecutor was “still maintaining that an innocent man be hanged because of procedure”, the Chief Justice answered, “Yes, the answer is yes”.
I wonder how this is in support of abolishing death penalty. Clearly it is not the penalty but the system that is at fault. Why did they ask to revamp the flaw instead?
i.e still have death penalty, but allow for re-opening of cases where an appeal had already been heard and dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
Correction: why DIDN’T they ask to revamp …
There is a Chinese saying – death is preferable to be alive in certain circumstances. Those who commit crimes are not afraid of death, so giving them the death penalty would not reduce the crime rate. Criminals live for the present, not tomorrow.
The death penalty practised here may be due to many reasons – to avoid overcrowding in the prisons, and to having to upkeep the prisoners’ cost of imprisonment, or if the crime involves a foreign national’s death, who may invite backlash from his country against Singapore if the Singaporean murderer is deemed to be let off too leniently. Liu Hong Mei was a good example.
On the other hand, if the murderer is a foreign national, long prison terms or life imprisonment would most probably be handed down, also with due consideration to foreign backlash and anger. Singapore has tasted such unpleasant experience with the Filipino maid in the nineties, the maid in question was hanged for murder here, and she ignited violent demonstrations in Manila. Recently some foreign maid murderers had their sentences reduced to only imprisonment on account of mental illness.
In Singapore as in all aspects of life here, it is pragmatism that rules, not human rights.
23) popcorn on October 16th, 2009 1.07 pm
There is a Chinese saying – death is preferable to be alive in certain circumstances. Those who commit crimes are not afraid of death, so giving them the death penalty would not reduce the crime rate. Criminals live for the present, not tomorrow.
wow.. they sound incorrigible. So … are you trying to support death penalty?
@20) Andrew Chuah on October 16th, 2009 11.46 am
Drug Trafficking is one thing. But the mastermind definitely deserve the death penalty, if they can be caught.
It’s kinda like the loan shark issue. The runners are the ones who get caught but the greatest offender are the chiefs.
It is for this reason that I support the death penalty. Yes, oppose it for the pawn, by all means, but please do not oppose death penalty for ALL CRIMES.
My question to those who oppose death penalty is, what do you say to the following crimes?
1. Drug lord and mastermind
2. Serial murder
3. Terrorist that caused death to innocents and destruction to property
4. Those who traffick in human and sex slaves
5. Those who formulate rebellion causing widespread death and destruction
What do you think would be adequate punishment for these people even if they have causes many innocent lives to be killed and many family destroyed?
does TOC have a habit of recycling previous topics?
Yong Vui Kong is unscrupulously used as a poster boy by this petition’s activists because he fits their profile of a “victim”? what of others who have repeatedly commited crimes?
sometimes saving 1 life, many more have to suffer if not die. the domino effect….
Back to the same point Btan,
What makes you think the terrorists drug lords rebels serial killers etc see death penalty as a punishment?
Every time a terrorist is executed, two groups of people cheer. Those that want revenge, and those that believe he has become a matyr and now is enjoy the fruits of his labor in heaven.
Now suppose the terrorist is rehabilated, and one day realizes the sheer enormity of his guilt – and carrying it for a very long time. Isn’t that an even more apt punishment than death before repentance?
@27) Zefly (aka Joshua Chiang) on October 16th, 2009 2.19 pm
I don’t see death penalty as a deterrence. You can’t deter someone who is dead.
I see it as a punishment. You do the crime, now do the time.
It is irrelevant what the criminal thinks is the punishment. Honestly, there are people who do not fear death itself. What is more important is such criminals are not released back to the society again to harm people.
That a drug runner is used as a poster boy to support a case of anti-death penalty to me is wrong. Yes, he does not deserve death. But it does not mean death penalty should be removed altogether.
Incompatible punishment level (as in the cast of this Vietnamese drug runner) should never be equate with death penalty itself.
Personally, if I can set the laws, then I would let the victims of the criminals decide what punishment the criminals should face. THAT to me, would be justice.
So in the case of this drug runner, the best persons to decide his punishment would be present and former drug addicts and their families.
Looking at the size (lack of) of the brains and color (lack of) the hearts of some of the postings here, it’s no wonder Singapore deserves its heartless government.
In Singapore, there is NO discretion. Everything is followed robotically. If a chief justice can insist that an innocent man must still be put to death because of a judicial technicality instead of restoring Truth and Justice, OMG, what does it say about our system and culture? It simply tells everyone that life in Singapore does not matter if one is not rich & powerful & connected and have deep pockets to feed the judicial system and fatten the lawyers and judges.
Life is CHEAP here, so what if you are innocent. Sad day.
Death penalties should be exercised for heinous violent crimes like murder/bombings/rape cum murder/armed robberies, kidnapping, hostages….etc. In cases like drug trafficking, minors should be given due discretion to rehabilitate. How many of us dun look back at our youths and shake our heads in disbelief at some of the stupidest deeds committed but are productive law abiding citizens now? Should we be put to death then too?
And those who say our prisons are overcrowded? Bullsh@*&! We can more than easily make out plenty of spaces if we STOP throwing normal citizens into jail for town council arrears or minor offences.
Geez, what happened to good old common sense people? What happened to respecting life and looking at death only as a final last resort? When a country like Singapore is so dispensable with killing off anything (death sentences, culling strays..) you know this is a modern day killing fields.
PS: To those dramatic hysterics (plenty in Singapore) who is adamant on the death penalty blindly on the grounds of protecting their precious children blah blah blah, let’s just see how they will sing the tune when one of their own minions get tangled in the drug trafficking web.
Now suppose i become the Minister of Law, maybe i can push for the change in death penalty. haha.
Now suppose i be the PM of singapore,
Now suppose i be….
So much hypocracy for those think that they are more “human” than the us, while they are doing the society more harm. pui.
16/10/09
Hi Btan
Good to hear from you. My stand is still unchanged and I am all for Death Penalty for Drugs Traffickers and if I am the government of Modern Sinapore, I will go all out to include Death Penalty on Drugs Mastermind like my only very rich brother (highly educated with a Master in NUS and tens of millions of drugs money invested in Singapore) and I am proud of my stand and no mercies must be shown even to this young man Vong.
Regards
Andrew Chuah
??//??
Here we go again…
TOC, why rehash the same topic. I am sure there are more newworthy issues deserving debate.
I am dying to comment on Ris Low … Ha ha!! or Obama Nobel’s Prize
Looking at the size (lack of) of the brains and color (lack of) the hearts of some of the postings here, it’s no wonder Singapore deserves its heartless government.
In Singapore, there is NO discretion. Everything is followed robotically. If a chief justice can insist that an innocent man must still be put to death because of a judicial technicality instead of restoring Truth and Justice, OMG, what does it say about our system and culture? It simply tells everyone that life in Singapore does not matter if one is not rich & powerful & connected and have deep pockets to feed the judicial system and fatten the lawyers and judges.
Life is CHEAP here, so what if you are innocent. Sad day.
Death penalties should be exercised for heinous violent crimes like murder/bombings/rape cum murder/armed robberies, kidnapping, hostages….etc. In cases like drug trafficking, minors should be given due discretion to rehabilitate. How many of us dun look back at our youths and shake our heads in disbelief at some of the stupidest deeds committed but are productive law abiding citizens now? Should we be put to death then too?
And those who say our prisons are overcrowded? Bullsh@*&! We can more than easily make out plenty of spaces if we STOP throwing normal citizens into jail for town council arrears or minor offences.
Geez, what happened to good old common sense people? What happened to respecting life and looking at death only as a final last resort? When a country like Singapore is so dispensable with killing off anything (death sentences, culling strays, oppositions…) you know this is a modern day “killing fields”.
PS: To those dramatic hysterics (plenty in Singapore) who is adamant on the death penalty blindly on the grounds of protecting their precious children blah blah blah, let’s just see how they will sing the tune when one of their own minions get tangled in the drug trafficking web.
TOC, why are my postings (29&36) now subjected to moderation and not before? Too raw? Length?
Censorship? Hate that. Let me know. If so, I have no issues not ever posting again. Not kidding. :)
PS: FYI
29) Knowledge Is Power on Your comment is awaiting moderation. October 16th, 2009 2.51 pm
36) Knowledge Is Power on Your comment is awaiting moderation. October 16th, 2009 3.23 pm
” Life is CHEAP here”
Tell that to the victims and the broken families devastated by drug abuse
“Tell that to the victims and the broken families devastated by drug abuse”
My complete post cannot be posted due to “moderation”??, so u can’t read the logic yet….BUT… so very true based on yours…zzz
(I’ll attempt to break it up in children’s pieces just for you.) see below
All gamblers are innocent victims if they wreck their families…death sentences to the casinos for encouraging gambling
All thieves are innocent victims if they steal more…death sentences to property owners for tempting thefts
All smokers are innocent victims if they cause cancer to themselves and others….death sentences to cigarette companies for polluting the world
All recalcitrant students are innocent if they disrupt learning to themselves and others…death sentences to teachers for implementing discipline and inhibiting their natural development.
…etc….etc…
Welcome to the age of victims and non accountability.
Welcome to Temasek Holdings.
Welcome to Singapore.
Joe, you are outdated lah. The more updated topic is ” when did the merlion extinct ? ” haha…check that out, damn funny.
We slaughtered so many poultry, pigs, cow, goat, lamb everyday, NO ONE gonna do anything for them ? Just imagine this very wonderful scenario, after a heavy discussion on ” World day against death penalty 2009″, those forum organizers went to a cosy restaurant and have steak, sparerib, lamb chop, spring chicken….wow….SO CRUEL those animals didn’t commited any crime you know.
Just curious, ask yourself this question
“Which is more inhumane, life long sentence or instant death ( dealth sentence) ? ”
For me, i probably go nutz if i know i have to stay in that small cage for the rest of my life.
To 41) JokeIsntIT
Let’s see whether you choose death when the time comes. Many of us find such things easy to say, but we all know how it is to accept death.
Singapore is just a tiny city state. Without the death penalty, the place will be much terrible than some neighbouring countries. Islamist terrorists who killed innocents including Muslim are free after few years of imprisonment. So why is the justice to the innocent people? Drug traffickers be it small peddlers or not, their selfish acts would inevitably cause the loss of many innocent lives …
Talks so much also no point. Got evidence charge them in court and convict them – “DEATH SENTENCE BY HANGING”
#42, it is not whether you can or not choose your own death, it is whether you have the courage or determination to do it. BTW, Many of “you” does not mean many of us out there.
Every life is valuable and dignified, but you can not simply go out there, commited crimes, and expected people to go easy on you.
28) btan
///Personally, if I can set the laws, then I would let the victims of the criminals decide what punishment the criminals should face. THAT to me, would be justice.///////
The victims, in their truamatised state of mind may not be ideal person to decide, but nonetheless, the judge can make an equally bad decision, being human.
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.
16) DHSC
I agree that it is difficult to show any compassion to serial murderers and rapists. But killing them in turn does not make sense to me as they are both sick and need treatment. Some countries prescribe castration for rapists. Rapists are presently not sentenced to death in Singapore unless they commit murder in the course of rape.
In Singapore, life imprisonment means one’s entire life and not 20 years prior to 2007. Such long imprisonment is in my view sufficient punishment for murderers. As for drug traffickers, esp if they are young, I do not think they deserve life imprisonment.
Singapore laws prescribe mandatory death penalty for many offences. The laws also shift the burden of proof to an accused person. This means the prosecutor decides whether an offender deserves to die or to live. This is fundamentally wrong because the prosecutor should never be the judge. If we believe in the separation of powers, we should let our judges perform their role of adjudication and not tie their hands, demanding that they impose the death penalty even though they are of the view that the offender does not deserve death or should be given another chance.
Notihing is more precious than a life. Different people lead different life. S’pore Ministers live grandeur lives and will never be sentenced to death even with their squeezing and ’stealing’ from the tax-payer citizens.
Why do people commit crime? Many reasons. Many wretchedly poor people committed crimes for money. Murders, drugs etc prevailed. Crime of passion is another thing altogether.
Death penalty should not be imposed on drug traffickers. Many are on pawns to the drug boss. They do not kill people. They do not force you to take drugs. You buy it and take it on your own accord.
To give the death sentence to a drug trafficker with the minimum amount when caught, what an unjustified law? Young carriers are put to the gallows without a second chance. Most of these people who turned to trafficking are really dead poor and society like our Spore has no good supporting system to arrest their plight especially if they are our very own citizens. Many a sad story were told in its true essence. But the court has no compassion to take it as the mitigating factor and death is the only answer.
Death is not the end all of things. The emotional trauma the immediate family faced will be perennial. Forever, life will never be the same to the living families.
The sad truth of a bad system of law. We must abolish the death penalty in a humane society of forgiveness.
Death penalty simply takes away the opportunity for a person to change.
In Singapore, the government say it supports giving ex-offenders a second chance via the Yellow Ribbon Project. The government also says that the younger the person, the more rehabilitation features as compared to deterence and retribution as an appropriate sentence for crime.
The existence of the mandatory aspect of the irreversible punishment imposed on a man as young as 21 years old, and whose offence was committed when he was 19 years old, leaves me no alternative but to conclude that the government is double-minded and half-hearted regarding rehabilitation and second chance.
In this regard, with all due respect, I regret to say that I am personally ashamed be called a Singaporean.
I grief for the family of Yong Vui Kong.
I’m against the death penalty and even more so the ridiculous “mandatory” death penalty for drug traffickers in Singapore.
Innocent people who have been tricked into carrying drugs into Singapore unknowingly can be put to death. Poor youths desperate to support their families make the mistake and pay the price with their lives. Yes it is a crime but does this crime deserve such a severe punishment? Is the yellow ribbon project not applicable to drug traffickers?
What about human traffickers or bankers who ruin lives of families then? Who decides which crimes deserve what punishment? What about the drunk driver who causes the deaths of innocent pedestrians? A life for a life?
It’s easy for supporters of the death penalty to say “kill” but not many will have the guts to pull the lever because at the end of the day, we all know that every life is precious.
It’s not about whether you’re young or old,
It’s about what life in general holds.
It’s not about who died and who was victimised,
It’s about how we want our society revolutionised.
It’s not about whether it’s our father or our brother,
It’s about how much about sthe anctity of life do we bother.
To err is human and that’s something we need to keep in mind,
More importantly, we must remember to forgive divine.
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,
Are hatred and vengeance going to bind our minds?
In your individual journey, do you not fall too?
Why blame someone for falling harder than you?
Abraham, Shakyamuni, Krishna and many more,
Join in one voice lauding forgiveness as the liberating door.
Instead of labelling me to be naive, gullible, immatured and blind,
Why not ask why you no longer dare to dream the dream of mankind?
Will his death make your life any better?
Will his death let you breathe easier?
Will his death bring the victims back to life?
Will his death reverse the nature of things?
Perhaps death penalty should stay as a deterrence against the really serious crime such as murder etc, however, in the case of drug trafficking…somehow it will be like stuck between a rock and a hard place….
but like what I have said previously, the way they are doing it is plucking out the weeds without removing the roots…
Come next month,the APEC summit will be held in Singapore.Most of the world
leaders,including Prez.Obama are here to rub shoulder with our President and PM
Lee.Why not all of us who are concerned about the well being of Mr Yong to send an
e-mail to those leaders who are in attendance for this summit.Perhaps,international
pressure may help to open up to a more gentler and kindler Singapore government.
From past experience,we have seen PAP tends to buckled under outside influence.
Remember the Michael Fay incident and also the banned protesters during the
economic summit few years ago.Both incidents, our government had changed its
decisions.Hope it works.Can TOC supply readers of e-mail addresses of those VIPs
Keep our fingers cross gals and guys.
Just saying that in my opinion, drug trafficking is not just a case of one person getting addicted for kicks. The problems will escalate on and on till finally there will be no one who can take it. A simple case would be a guy who take drugs.
You might argue that he is wealthy and taking drugs don’t harm anyone. But what about if he has kids to take care of? or if he kids take the drugs too? Consider again what happens if he is NOT wealthy anymore? DO you think that he would kick out the drug habit or would he more likely go around stealing money and perhaps even borrowing from loan sharks? For drug addicts, the success rate for kicking the habit is only ( the figures vary at this part, but the figure suggest between 30% of success to 2%, your guess is as good as mine here)
Not to mention that Singapore is something like an international stepping stone to almost all major countries. Hanging is not a deterrant for the crime lords perhaps but Singapore can hardly travel to Thailand simple to arrest the crime lord. Especially since Thailand is not under our Jurisidicton.
The only thing the SIngapore Government can do can do would be to seize all drugs located and punish carrier. While death for the carrier would not stop the drug lords. Constant loss of their goods would. Not to mention that the death sentence would tell foreigners not to carry the goods. Which is a mercy in a way, for no one every carries drug for the drug lords once, once you are in, you will be carrying it till either u get caught or yo get caught between cross fire between crime lords.
As for those saying that whatt if it was your close friend or relative who got caught? Why don’t you put it this way, what if your kids in their early teens get addicted? (remember that the addiction rehab rate is only 2% to 30%. What if some guy desperate for drugs kidnaps your child and ask for ransom? If we keep on saying what if it was your close relative or friend who is sentenced to death, no crime doers would ever get punished. Punishing law breakers regardless of name or relationship is what we call impartiality.
As for European powers, I may be rude and egotisitic in saying so but do remember that the European powers may not be the best example to follow, Except for democracy and their artisitc culture, I don’t really find anything of their current work worthy of respect. In fact, compared to countries like China and Vietnam who are on the rise, while most of the European Powers are stagnent or on the decline. I would say, I would not consider the Europeans worthy of respect.
I humbly submit my opinion and I apologize in advance if I may offend anyone
#52,
Mr Ho, perhaps you may wanna read this-
http://www.singapore-window.org/1020naus.htm
This is the reason why drug trafficking will never stop. Death penalty is like fighting SARs with cough drops.
The first portion of the article only talks about how she swears that she is innocent and how religious she is or how ignorant she is.
But the simple fact is, that is what crime lords do. What are you going to do if all the crime lord ever do is get the poor religious and innocent people to do the smuggling for them? Its the same as loan shark getting kids to do the vandalizing. Should we just let them go after confiscating the drug? I’m not saying that she was innocent or guilty. But the death penalty for her is not to be blamed on the Singapore Government, it is to be blamed on her so called Nigerian Friend. Would you mind terribly much if u are a shop keeper and you sell a dagger and someone commits murder with it and u are charged for abatement?
I’ve been with drug addicts and I know what they are like, they can swear very beautifully that they are all religious, they pray and fast everyday. They can tell you all kinds of stories if it will get them their fix. But ultimately, what matters is the end. Drug addicts in a society is going to create more trouble than anything. The death penalty are successful enough that no one dares traffics in huge amount of drugs or do the delivery themselves.
Singapore Government subscribe to one school of thought. Small sacrifice for the bigger amount of people. People who conduct kidnapping are often people who are desperate too. Are you going to ask for amnesty for them too?
Whose fault is that that the woman is going to be hanged? The Nigerian “friend” of hers
Whose fault is it that cambodia’s got a free drug trafficker? Cambodia government of course. What should Singapore do? Refuse to conduct business with Cambodians? Or should we take a page out of America’s book and launch a war with Cambodia in an effort to take out drug abusers?
If are going to get all moral about who you do business with, we should probably avoid doing business with Japan too. Their politicians are courrupt. We should avoid Indonesia and Malaysia too. How about East Timor and Russia where bribery is a way of life?
The Singapore Government is about stopping drug trafficking in Singapore. Not the world. We are not the World Police. We don’t have armies of Superman.
Last point to note that there is a saying that punishment does not stop crimes from being committed because when someone commits a crime, one does not think about what happens if he gets caught. We think only about the benefit. Its the same thinking as gamblers, they don’t think about what happens if they lose, they think what happens if they win. Do you wanna subscribe to that school of thought too? Why don’t we just cancel all punishments?
I say all this not to say that Singapore government is right but merely point out some points to think through before any of you signs the petitions. Do remember, Singapore is responsible for Singapore. Singapore is not responsible for Cambodia. Nor is Singapore to be blame for the acts of drug lords. If i point a gun at you and get you to punch Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and they arrest you. Should be angry at the police or me?
My humble opinion.
well said. Singapore is not world police only responsible for itself. Don’t forget though, no matter how tight the control, drugs still come through to harm singaporeans. Drugs from people we do business with. So i’m guessing the executions and the destroyed lives of many is a necessary side effect for the profit of a few in singapore inc.:)
phew… To tell the truth, this is the first time I actually posted an argumentative essay on a online forum. And I was actually quite nervous. Thanks for being on my side, zefly……. Are you???
I thank those behind the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign for organising the Petition for Clemency for YONG VUI KONG.
I can understand that some folks may well support the use of Mandatory Death Penalty. However, YONG’s case certainly highlights that it is a blunt instrument.
I think we all have experienced not only how foolish and naive teenagers can be, but also how easily they can be swayed and influenced by others, both peers and also older persons whom they look up to.
For many of us, our kids grow up in the context of an attentive family and with good counsel available on hand. From what I understand of YONG’s background, he is not so fortunate. He was on his own at an early age and fell in with the “wrong” group of people. I am pretty sure that the “mastermind” exploited the fact that he was young and naive to recruit him as their delivery boy in their illicit racket.
Does YONG deserve to be put to death because he is incorrigible, a lost cause with no prospect of rehabilitation? I don’t think so.
I hear that the Clemency Petition will be submitted to the President soon, and will be open for signatures for only a little while more. For those interested to sign the Clemency Petition, contact: singaporeantideathpenalty@gmail.com
For those interested to know what is the position of the Roman Catholic Pope on the issue of Death Penalty, see
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/documents/rc_seg-st_doc_20010621_death-penalty_en.html
57) Zefly (aka Joshua Chiang) on October 17th, 2009 12.10 pm
Death penalty is like fighting SARs with cough drops.
well, I could say abolishing Death Penalty is like trying to cure H1N1 with regular flu pills. Death Penalty is like the H1N1 vaccine… I do not think the vaccine will be 100% effective, but it’s gonna be much much better than regular flu tablets.
If I had been caught doing some of the things I did in my youth I would not be here today saying this. I was lucky I was not caught. I was caught only once – for trying to drive a car from one carpark to another – because the car owner had left his car keys hanging on his car door.
I ‘grew up’ while sitting in Queenstown Police station for three hours that night. I was not prosecuted for the act because I was able to convince the police that I was not trying to steal the car but to just drive it away to teach the owner a lesson for being so careless.
Till today, I have been a very good citizen – all because I felt I was given a chance. This is what a death penalty cannot offer. There must be some degree of mitigation given to anyone who are caught on the wrong side of the law because of his tender age.
I agree with Gemani. I got into the wrong side of the law in the army couple of years ago. It was a combination of ignorance, naivete, and more importantly, the extreme pressure I was undergoing during my initial months in NS that compelled me to break the military laws.
Thankfully, my unit commander let me off with a much less serious charge than would have been (think DB and record).
Sometimes we commit mistakes because of our recklessness, our naivete, our stupidity and immaturity, and maybe while under stress. Sometimes all we need is just a chance for us to prove that we understand our mistakes and will not do that again. Till today I’m grateful to the unit for not prosecuting me harsly. As first-time offenders, they really deserve my chance.
Just a bit of information for people who proposed that drug traffickers deserved death penalty because of the many lives that they will potentially ruin.
We all know heroin is a highly addictive substance, but did you know nicotine (the substance found in cigarettes) is just as addictive as heroin? For those of you who smoke, you know didn’t get addicted on just 1 cigarette. It took multiple exposures before addiction develops. Simply that means, one cannot become a drug addict overnight just because he was fooled into using drug once.
Did you know that drug addiction is also a form of psychological disorder? People who turned to drugs (inlcuding nicotine for that matter) were emotionally less robust to begin with, therefore they were more susceptible to drug addiction. So is it any surprise to know that almost all drug addicts are addicted on nicotine?
My point is, it takes 2 hands to clap. People who became drug addicts were ‘handicapped’ in life to begin with, while I’m not saying that drug traffickers are guiltless, is it fair to put all responsibilities on them for the lives ‘ruined’? More importantly, do they deserve the death sensentece like how they are made out to be?
Another bit of information:
Heroin (or diamorphine) is used legally as a painkiller for cancer patients. You would expect these cancer patients to all become drug addicts, wouldn’t you?
Read:
http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/substanceabuse/patient/allpages
“People with cancer very rarely develop substance abuse problems unless they abused drugs and alcohol before cancer was diagnosed. Generally, people without a history of substance abuse can take opioids and other drugs to control cancer pain without developing substance abuse problems. People with a history of substance abuse, however, are at risk for developing problems when drugs are prescribed to control cancer symptoms.”
Again my point is: the problem does not lie with the drugs alone, it’s also the people who abuse them. Simplistically putting all responsibilities squarely on the drug traffickers is just denying that these drug addicts or potential drug addicts need help in their lives. Drug addiction is just the symptoms and not the root of the problem. The drug traffickers might have paid with their lives for their crimes, but don’t pretend that the problem has been solved.
#62 lobo76
I think a more apt analogy would be:
Death penalty is like treating flu with antibiotics – you know that it doesn’t work, but it’s better to have something than nothing.
Who are we to take away the life that was created by our Creator?
We have been brought up in a very “Chinese” way of thinking e.g. “an eye for an eye”, we are very unforgiving and the elderly have always taught us this “I will bring you to the police if you misbehaved”… all these teachings and mentality has brought about a very unforgiving society. Look like Ris Low(most recent news). The media and public went into full force to lambaste this poor girl! Yes, she has done something wrong, but isn’t it time we be more forgiving and gracious toward her cause?
I seriously hope Anti-Death group should bring this matter up to the government. I will gladly be part of this group. Please email me – marcusykk@gmail.com
In the name of peace…
The Singapore Government is not just punishing the traffickers alone. Abusers are also punished and jailed all the time. They are not just released with a minor warning. Its not as if the traffickers are that innocent either. They are bringing the drugs to Singapore with full knowledge of what the drug does and who it is going to be done too. Please don’t tell me Yong was so innocent that he didn’t know what those drugs are going to do. The simple fact is, he knows the penalty for being caught is death, he knows what the drugs are going to do and he knows that he is doing it for money. What other things should we say about him? The way some of us think, you would think that he was a martyr instead. The only thing special about him was that he got media coverage. Otherwise, its the same old story as all the other drug traffickers.
There are some of us who got a second chance. Let me just assume that for all of us, it was probably because what offenses you committed was simply a very small issue and no one would want to make a big thing out of it. Its the same reason why humans forgive each other for accidentally stepping on each others toes but no one forgives another person who is a terrorist or who kidnaps your child for ransom but murders the kid instead of giving it back.
No one becomes a drug addict by using the drug once, that simply means that the drug seller was selling the drugs to the same guy over and over again which is even worse. No child ever gets a mental issue or needs therapy after one caning. Its when the caning gets too often when the child suddenly develops mental illness. Am I right to blame the parents mainly for being too free with the cane? Or should I blame the child who is being too disobedient too? The simple fact is, the parents chose to be too free with the cane. The drug traffickers are simply too free with other people’s lives. The parents get satisfaction and the drug traffickers get money. Why are people asking for clemency when Yong gets the death penalty?
Singapore doesn’t really believe in an eye for an eye. If it was so, we would be getting rapist to rape the wives or girlfriends of convicted rapist. Singapore Government believes in a strict and pragmatic governing which unfortunately doesn’t fit with what the Western Government believe is good for us,
Ris Low was disqualified simply because she lied in her contract and because the Miss Singapore World has to be someone who is actually as close to the epitome of perfect and pure beauty that humans can think of. Unfortunately, she doesn’t fit the word pure for her crime record and her lying of the contract. Should she go to the world stage, do you sincerely think that she would have a chance of even qualifying for the final?
Lately, it seems that strangely, there are many countries who believe in treating lawbreakers with kindness and hoping that they will repent. However, I personally prefer to look at it in a rational and statistical point of view. Thats something I hope to have in my governing party. Rather that then to let themlead with irrational hope and ignoring of statistic as well as adopting laws and policy that are suitable for other countries instead of ours. Do remember that Singapore has the lowest crime rate compared with almost all the countries who think they know better about crime than our country. Why should we take advice from countries that are in fact performing worse than us?
@48) KopitiamApek on October 16th, 2009 9.20 pm
[[The victims, in their truamatised state of mind may not be ideal person to decide, but nonetheless, the judge can make an equally bad decision, being human.
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. ]]
And how can a 3rd party person, who cannot understand the sufferings of victims, will be able to judge?
Also, you diminish the victims by saying all of them will be out for revenge. Some victims of crimes have forgave their perpetrators. I remember the family of the murdered maid pleaded on behalf of the murderer as well (also a maid).
Some rape victims have also forgave their rapists. So why not the victims of drug abuse?
Don’t you think it is TRUE justice when the victim or the victim’s family has a say in the punishment of the perpetrator?
49) teo soh lung on October 16th, 2009 10.20 pm
The flaw lies in our judicial system. We should have a panel of jury instead of having something important decided by one man. Definitely there will be some baseness if only one man will judge.
Having a jury (which has to be vetted by both parties, the prosecutor and the accused) is also more fair to both sides.
@57) Zefly (aka Joshua Chiang) on October 17th, 2009 12.10 pm
[[Mr Ho, perhaps you may wanna read this-
http://www.singapore-window.org/1020naus.htm
This is the reason why drug trafficking will never stop. Death penalty is like fighting SARs with cough drops. ]]
After reading this article, a thought come to my mind. This is conjecture on my part but could the traffickers hanged be the competitors of Lo?
After all, if one is chummy with a supplier, then it would be good business to cut off the supply route of the supplier’s competitors, thus benefiting oneself?
After all, did we catch ALL drug runners? Or just a selective few? I doubt we caught all the drug runners or else our society will be 100% drug free. And this is definitely not the case.
@63) gemami on October 18th, 2009 9.47 am
My question to you is : how many would be like you, genuinely “wake up” after having a brush with the law?
Look at people like Michael Fay. After being rotan, he still has not wake up and causing troubles in his own country.
My personal thought is : punishment should never be equal to rehabilitation. A person may be rehabilitated but must first be punished for serving the crime.
That said, I also feel death sentence is too much for drug trafficking. Just a hefty fine (say 10 times the street value of the drug trafficked) plus 12 strokes of cane plus public shaming should be enough deterrence.
Singapore definately did not catch ALL the drug traffickers. anyone who claimed to do so would be lying. That said, the punishementprescribed by Mt/Mrs Btan is probably more of something to be given to drug abusers.Drug traffickers would never be given that kind of punishment simply because no one would expect them to pay up!!! Ten times the street value is too much. How are u gonna get those who are are ignorant to pay up or expect a simple street thug to pay up?
Not to mention that the street value can change frequently enough that it would be a hassle to get the street value all the time. I would probably say that if the punishment for a trafficker was to be so light. Drug traffickers would be free to smuggle drugs all the time.
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hi…i’ve left my comments re dis issue on my blog. Would u guys drop by to take a look? tkx.
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Uncategorized - Jan 15, 2010 10:12 - 126 Comments
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Uncategorized - Jan 15, 2010 10:12 - 126 Comments
It is affordable – Mah Bow Tan
More In Uncategorized
- Rebutting Law Minister K Shanmugam
- Challenge of communication
- TOC & Talk Politics hold successful Year in Review forum
- “Live” from Post Museum – TOC’s Year End Review
- The Fajar Generation
If you don’t want death penalty, then don’t commit crimes that has death penalty.
If you commit a crime knowing that the penalty is death, then you should be prepared to meet your maker.