1) Someone forcefully imprisons you and put you through unimaginable torture for a for whatever time frame. (you have no choice)
2) Someone rapes your baby girl, or your baby boy, or your mother or your girlfriend (they had no choice)
3) Someone who beats up the weak and old for years (the victims have no choice)
4) Someone who stole from you, stole your entire life savings, legally or illegally. (you had no choice)
5) Someone who tries to sell you drugs. (you have a choice)

Sounds simple? Then perhaps you can expand each of them in all horror and in all honesty. But guess which one still gets the death penalty? Not just death penalty mind you, but MANDATORY death penalty.

What are the intentions of the perpetrators of the first four actions? Direct and clear, and I don’t think I need to spell them out.
What is the intention of the last one?

Many here did not say to give chance to this man. They say NO to death sentence. Jail sentence is a big punishment in itself. By catching him, the drugs were stopped this once but there are many more like Yong that the drug lords can use and keep trying. There is no end to the supply of desperate kids and adults as the divide between rich and poor just keeps getting bigger and more family break down.

If the next one gets caught, his drugs will also not reach the end consumer. And if the next one after the next one gets caught, their drugs will also not reach the end consumers. It’s harvest time for CNB officers.

Sure OR, everyone seems to know a lot about Yong’s despondency. They read it in the news, they watch the interview with his brother and emotion takes over, the mind leads them into believing that this poor boy has, indeed, led a dog’s life prior to the drugs.

I’m not absolving Yong of any responsibility. I just don’t think he should die because of mistakes that anyone could have made, and especially at that stage in life when all that matters is you’re no longer poor.

Is it okay to be a reckless or negligent driver , kill a person on the road and get away with an easy light sentence as compared to a dope runner who gets a death penalty???!?!? I don’t know, I don’t understand!!

Our fight for Vui Kong is far from over. Let’s just do what we can and pray
that Vui Kong will be spared from that harsh death sentence.

I should think that it is precisely because Yong never had any reason to think that money dropped from the sky that he should not have taken the path he ultimately did. After all, he of all people should have known that no one was going to shower him with gifts and expensive treats without expecting something back. But he CHOSE the life of crime to get rich quick rather than be a waiter or a cleaner in a coffeeshop. If you choose to respect him for the choices he made, so be it :D.
As for compassion, I think anyone who repents deserves compassion. Even the one-eyed dragon – he donated his organs too, didn’t he? But if we allow that compassion to be the basis of a rule that everyone who repents be let off the hook wrt the law, then you might as well not have the rule of law at all; repentance after being caught is easy.

88)Antares
Alcohol and gambling are legal. Has that stopped families from being destroyed by alcoholism and gambling addictions? We cannot afford to have more families being destroyed by addictive drugs. I think the focus should remain on preventing access rather than healing wounded souls after the damage is done.

From heroin to the opium of masses. Anyone remembers the time when you were a sperm with no functioning brain? I’ve no recollection. In this respect, life beyond death is a misnomer.

Perhaps this will help. Shut your eyes and think for a moment what it is like to be leaving home at 12, with no mum or dad, no education and having to make a living in the big, wide world. Forget about hunger, I think the bullying from ‘big boys’ is enough to push you to the edge. Some people literally do not have a choice and have to gamble with lives, not for greed but mere survival.

Who said anything about philosophy?

Perhaps i misled you a little. Education in this case does not simply mean science, math, history, civics and moral education, school subjects etc. Education in this case refers to upbringing, environment. It refers to anything you learnt while growing up where you did, listening to words spoken, seeing events unfold, making mistakes. These are all aspects of education.

Comparing yourself to Yong is pointless, because you could probably be the exception that proves the rule. But you have to acknowledge that while Yong may have had the same choices you did and picked the wrong one, you may not have grown up in the exact sort of despondency he did. My assertions aren’t that unfounded after all are they.

Are you telling me that our public schools teach philosophy to secondary school students? Because the only institutions I’ve matriculated into are Primary and Secondary schools. My success and monetary wealth did not come as a result of a “sound” tertiary education. It came from despondency, precisely the environment that you sympathize with. Which does make a parody of your assertions though lol

By mentioning anti-intellectualism, you have implied that you’re quite the opposite, which i believe no one here would disagree with. However, you have failed to recognise how privileged you are to have been afforded the sort of education that has enabled you to become who you are. And that confirms that you are not as bright as you’d like to think.

Sure, mention all the historical terms you want. Use all the idioms and proverbs you can. At the end of the day, the only person you have managed to convince is yourself. While that is some achievement, do realise that there is the possibility that Yong could have turned out like you if he had been born into a similar family and environment. And because of that, you are not as special as you think you are.