BREAKING: The Court of Appeal has heard Yong Vui Kong’s appeal. After hearing submissions from Mr M Ravi, representing Yong, and the response from Attorney-General Walter Woon for the prosecution, the Court has reserved judgement for a later date. Look out for TOC’s report on this hearing soon.
I (Jacob George) was at the hearing today which began at 10am. The Court of Appeals chambers was as cold as the mandatory death penalty which the Singapore government so efficiently practices. Over 50 people were squeezed into the small public gallery. I saw Vui Kong escorted into the chambers by four police officers. He followed the proceedings via the mandarin translation by a court interpreter. He seemed just like any other 21 year old with his spiky hair and the sides shaved. But unlike any other 21 year old, he’s facing the hangman’s noose.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay longer. When I left about an hour into the proceedings, i looked at Vui Kong who was seated behind a glass partition with two police officers on his left and right. I wondered what was going through his mind knowing this hearing was all about, to put it bluntly, to hang or not to hang and if it’ll be the last time i’ll be seeing him….alive.
Read the rest of this article here: Jacob 69er
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What about those who suffer from the drugs he smuggled into Singapore?
If he knew the drugs are there, he cant escape…..
@Hanging
What about the person who made the drug and requested him to traffick into Singapore? Killing the messenger is what we good at aren’t we?
Oh by the way, do you think the people who bought drugs from him were “suffering”? I beg to differ. These people pay for the drugs knowing the effect of the drugs. The know full well what they are getting themselves into, but yet they willingly pay for it. They did not suffer because people like YVK (who is under-educated) smuggled the drugs into Singapore. They “suffer” because of themselves. There’s very little we (including the state) can do in this case.
People pay for ciggarettes knowing the side effect of it. Shall we kill the ciggarettes seller then? Why not?
There’s no doubt that he deserves to be punished but to hang him will be meaningless. He needs to be given a chance to learn from his mistake. He’s only 21.
#hanging
Drugs itself doesn’t kill directly. They become harmful items when being abused, similar to cigarettes, kitchen cleaver, etc..
How about let the Prosecutor stuff heroins and other drugs into Vui Kong’s jail cell, see the outcome if Vui Kong died of drug in the end?
I personally think drug trafficking should only amount to manslaugther the most, ie. without any intention to kill, and definitely not supportive to equate it to the case of a murder.
Here’s online petition for those who support to give this boy a second chance:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/yongvuikong/
“a process that accords no significance to relevant facets of the character and record of the individual character or the circumstances of the particular offence excludes from consideration in fixing the ultimate punishment of death the possibility of compassionate or mitigating factors stemming from the diverse frailties of humankind. It treats all persons convicted of a designated offence not as uniquely individual human beings, but as members of a faceless, undifferentiated mass to be subjected to the blind infliction of the penalty of death” –Woodson v. North Carolina
nothing more to be said.
REALLY?
You must be kidding.
” drug trafficking should only amount to manslaugther the most, ie. without any intention to kill”. The real problem here is the drug that would cause immeasurable and unthinkable amount of to innocent lives and it’s worst than the real intention to kill. Understand small boy.
Read the Opium war history pls.
@cbl
The real problem here is the drug that would cause immeasurable and unthinkable amount of to innocent lives and it’s worst than the real intention to kill
Then should we hang those who open gambling dens and casinos as well? Gambling seems to have the same effect as well.
I am not legally trained. I am an average Singaporean. I know drugs are evil and kill. But death sentences cannot be based on a technicality i.e. mandatory. Please do not take death lightly.
Let our competent judges balance the environment and circumstances behind the crime. Not just the weight of the drugs involved.
@Hoyohoyo: Nobody says those who made the drug go scot free. If caught, they too should be punished buy the law.
@REALLY?: Really? Then why not make drug legal?
@Hanging
Nobody says those who made the drug go scot free. If caught, they too should be punished buy the law.
Unfortunately, it seems that drug lords are smart enough not to carry the drugs themselves across the border and therefore not the ones going to the hangman’s noose. We are just hanging the drug mules which the drug lords obviously don’t lack. Cite us a case where a major boss of a drug syndicate was hanged. It’s zilch.
I am a Singaporean living in the United States now, hearing this news really makes me feel ashame of my country. I did not know that Singapore’s law could be so cruel. A person should be given a second chance in life, death sentencing would not solve the problem and should not be the way to solve a problem too. The court should not be the one to decide one’s life or death. Besides, he was so young and ignorant. I really think that death sentencing was unnecessary.
Capital punishment should stay but it shouldn’t be mandatory. If our legal framework is as robust as we claim, there is every reason why we should have faith that our judges will mete out proportionate punishment. I hope Vui Kong will set a legal precedent for sg in this respect and nudge our mps to debate this in Parliament.
Does the death penalty deter drug traffickers? Probably.
Does that mean we should kill all drug traffickers regardless of background and mitigating circumstances?
Of course not! To do so is not justice. Justice means that criminals are punished, not just to deter others, but according to the actual intent, malevolence, and severity of their crime.
Of course society could sometimes ‘lose’ in a sense, by forgoing the positive effect of deterrence. But that is the price society must pay to remain decent, humane and civilized.
Killing a young person who has made a mistake is abhorrent – even in China this young man would most likely not be executed.
Hanging someone simply to deter others (and I would have to reluctantly agree, hanging is an effective deterrent) from trafficking drugs, without taking into account background considerations, intent, age, and other mitigating factors, is really akin to a form of human sacrifice.
That is, society says ‘we know you are not really a thoroughly evil person, and in terms of natural justice your punishment may not seem right, but we will kill you anyway.’ Such a society is lacking in humanity, in compassion, and inert and reactionary.
Abolishing slavery, abolishing torture, abolishing child labour -all had their immediate practical downsides – but their abolition has moved humanity on to a higher moral and spiritual plane.
What society gains by deterring a few drug traffickers, is more than negatively offset by the damage to the spirt of that society, to its soul.
Being merciful is when you give mercy even at cost to oneself. Being merciful to this young man may have its cost to society – that cannot be denied. But the gain is in the spirit – that Singapore can call itself a compassionate society, and one can be sure that in the long run, benefits, both tangible and intangible will flow on from this.
I think mandatory needs to be relooked even though the punishment should remain as a death penalty. Mandatory is not solving the problem to anything. Those caught are merely the small runners who might be taken advantage of by drug lords when desperate.
Other than usual scenarios whereby people do it for easy money, think abt scenarios where their families safety are threatened if they do not take up the job. Or merely a young adult being manipulated in his moment of desperation. I believe when someone is dealt the death penalty and then given a second chance he will treasure his life much better.
On the other hand, even by these measures does it stop drugs from entering? Do the drug lords care who dies from such ‘missions’? As long as the demand and supply remain, drugs will find its way into the country. It is time to review how to prevent this instead of putting to death small time ‘runners’ and expecting the influx of drugs to decrease.
Also laws of a country should reflect the beliefs of the society. I am sure that many people do not understand the full meaning of mandatory death penalty. The law was set sometime back, now things have changed and people belief’s have changed too. It is time to review and come to a common consensus on the penalties.
The problem is that our laws were never thoroughly discussed with the population or representatives of the populi in parliament. There were almost no opposition party members then. The law was created by one man alone and his feelings and predjidices run deep with almost every piece of legislation. We may never have a fair constitution if the PAP remains in unquestionable power. They have never listened to us ‘pesky’ citizens. Why would they now really.
the mandatory death penalty needs to be revisited. But how and where it can be changed is not something i know. I am a quantity surveyor. even lawyers will find it tough i was told as they are like general practioners only. It will be great if the Missy Dotty can enlighten everyone here as she did today in ekunaba
my sympathies to this guy and his family but at 21, unless he has low iq or mentally inapt, he should be accountable for his actions. no matter what reason he has for being a trafficker, it would not be valid. consider the mal-effects should all those drugs get into the market. go walk around the slums and ‘hoods in those western countries to see for yourself. (hire some muscles should you are plain foolhardy!) if the punishment is not harsh enough to have a deterrance effect, the druglords will keep trying to get drugs into sg.
If the opposition parties go into a 3 corner fight with the PAP it will be just a waste of time, effort and resources.
I urge all opposition parties to unite and work their plans out. There were so many walk overs in the past General Elections, now that the opposition parties have enough candidates to field in all 27 constituencies that does not mean that they should spread themselves thin and field anyone who wants to stand for election or worst field them in a 3 corner fight with the PAP. Please put only your strongest team for the election and work together to avoid a 3 corner fight AT ALL COST!!!!!
If any of us are born into a poor family and has to fend out a living at such a young age, we could also end up in the same situation as Vui Kong. Are these factors not mitigating enough to spare him some compassion ?
Why can’t our PAP leaders have some heart and just give this young man a 2nd chance ? And what are they waiting for ? To hang him after the elections ?
If he’s allowed to go free, it would open the floodgate for syndicates to recruit these naive young men and ruin more lives because they will cite this as a case that drug runners are safe. No doubt we are all sympathetic to Vui Kong, but unfortunately, this issue is larger than his life. The part I really hate is Wijeysingha politicising the issue. Taking advantage of this young man to further his political cause is despicable.
From a strictly humanist and pragmatic point of view, while killing the “messenger”(the one who transports the drug) might send a potential message across to those outside of the case, such as the drug lords or the ones using the drugs, in the name of deterrence, I think that killing the messenger is simply a very “cosmetic” act. We cure a symptom, but not the real root of the problem, which is the addiction to drugs and the desire to abuse such drugs. In addition, the drug lords simply are too smart to be outside of the picture, so which means that the messengers and transporters end up as the scapegoats.
What’s wrong with trying to impose a stiff punishment in order to deter people from bringing drugs into Singapore ? The only reason why Singapore is relatively drug free is becos of our strict law. Would you still feel sorry for this guy if the drugs he smuggled in ended up with your teenage children? The impact of drugs can be devastating, I have seen how drug can literally ruin the life of a person, it take more than rehab to change them. Very often, they end up in rehab over and over and over and over again… Before you know it, their lives on earth are over.
I have a close friend who had a recurring drug addict sibling. I have seen first hand how drugs had destroyed this person’s life and the lives of her family,her parents and most of all, her 4 young children. They literally grew uo as orphans and are often scorned at and stigmatized in school for having drug addicts parents! ( yes, their father is a good for nothing drug addict too). as drug addicts, they will resort to lying and stealing and intimidation etc in order to get their next fix. If only you have experienced first hand the impact of these drugs have on your lives, you think not that this guy deserve a 2 nd chance?
I am not for capital punishment, but I think the message must be strong enough to deter the drug lords from bringing more of these harmful substance onto Singapore.
They should be punished.But taking their lives, only God has that right……!
Muff,Didn’t their parents teach them that drugs are dangerous?
if you think the death penalty deters traffickers, think again. they dont give a fuck. they use mules who come a dime a dozen. should we imprison wong kan seng for letting mas selamat escape? should we seize ho ching’s assets for losing our money in some bad gamble? should we kill the judge for sentencing a possibly innocent malaysian man (vignes morthy) to death on a technicality?
Singapore is what it is, a country with low drug abuse, because of tough deterrent laws. Deterrent laws MUST be served out. Spore is a potential port of entry for drug trafficking from around the world if our laws are not tough.
@hoyohoyo
Big time drug players know in Sg u get gallows. That’s y they send in chess piece for sacrifice. This young man know this n he come. He cannot blame anyone when he walk right into the noose himself.
His only hope now is the presidential pardon. I am not sure whether drug offense like his can be looked into. Drug trafficker must die. Look at mordern day Mexico is good example.
Living in the modern world, I see Singapore is going to have a more difficult time as more n more pple subscribing to the so call human rights. I think it is matter of time compromise will be made. I wonder what happen then.
Pple failed to realise that it is extremely hard to get death sentence in Singapore. They dun realise that in the process, most pple who have been charge with offense that carries death penalty will be lower at the slightest possibility. When pple get death sentense, it only mean there is a irrefutable fact to justify the charge.
In Sg, drug law is the only statue that has the element of “guilty until proven innocent”. For pple to qualify for hang, he has to carry the weight of abt 20cents coins. I dunno the name of the chemical component, but inorder for him to get death, he either carries so much low grade drug (Sg one usually r yellow which is lower grade. The better grade in Malaysi is usually brown not white as shown in TV) or he has with him high grade drug. Pls forgive me for unable to provide u guys with the grade numbering as it had been ten yrs since I come across drug cases.
We have to be tough to drug trafficker. The fight against drug is merciless. We r unable to prevent what happen in other countries. But we better do what we can here even the harshest means. It is either they die or our children die. U choose.
So pls dun say Sg is heartless. It is not easy for judge to pass death sentenses. Even the officer who kills Ah Huat does not get peace even it was justified. If u want this type of thing from happening, then do ur part. Dun do drug, even the hippy drugs like the various pills u see in night spots.
There is saying among drug addicts who went through rehablitation. One is considered lucky if a person dies from drug overdose. The worst case is when the drug causes brain damage and forever u live in sham and disability. If u dun believe me, go to SANA and ask the counselor there.
When demand is low, then pple like this young man will not risk their life for cowards who send them. Do ur part, dun let drug ruin our country.
We plays a part for this man death if he hang. Cause there is a demand, then there is supply.
I think we should go one step further…
manufacturers of weapons of war should also be executed!
How many more innocent victims have been killed or maimed by such weapons.
I think human being should be totally exterminated n let apes roam the earth again. The list never end dude.
Cbi, the opium war was a deliberate attempt by the west to weaken the Chinese and was compounded by a corrupt government. Singapore is neither, so the comparison is not relevant.
Many governments tackle the problem by trying the cut off the source but don’t address the demand among the populace. That’s where they fail. The US is a very good example.
Also majority of countries don’t have death penalty for drug trafficking. Do you see the problem spiraling out of control?
@Deatheater
How can comparing with China not relevant. We see the effect of drug abuse affecting the whole country. Do we want that.in Singapore?
In some of the country who do not practise death sentense, did u bother to point out drug abuse can be carry out legally under certain condition? u wan that for SG?
Yong was just touching 19 when he was arresting, it was a grave youthful indiscretion, isn’t the death sentence too harsh? Second, will Yong’s death eradicate drug trafficking or abuse from Singapore?
we will never be able do away with drug abuse. Drug abuse and its motivation will be a subject for another discussion. Yong is just too young, I would err on the side of compassion though many Singaporeans would disagree. Taking a life apart from satisfying our revenge motve, it in no way eradicates that for which the law metes out a harsh punishment.
Why don’t hang the drug addicts as well.Then nobody will dare to try taking drugs and therefore we need not worry about drug traffickers as there will be no demand for drugs.(no buyers no sellers)Maybe this will eradicate the drug problem.So many drug traffickers hanged but still there are drug addicts around.
Hanging this kid will not cut the demand nor supply of drugs. The president shld pardon him and give him a chance at life after a jail sentence. Like one reader points out, he is just a chess piece…
In Britain, after the London 2008 bombings, many people clamor for capital punishment. Whether this is out of justice or vengeance, I do not know.
I am biased to believe that capital punishment is justifiable for drug trafficking. I am old enough to remember heroin spiked cigarettes been sold for 20cents by uncle’s shop at the back door in Macpherson…seeing people ‘chase the dragon’.
Youth have the promise of a bright future, the possibilities and dreams fueled by vigor, inspiration and passion. But drugs rob them of this bright future and consign them to a hell of living death : dependency, low-living, squalor. Drug traffickers are thus merchants of death
Please do not say that VK is a victim. How about the lost lives of teens and adults that his “business” brought about?
The Vui Kong case only shows me 2 things.
1) the Law Minister prejudiced the case by making statements we would not expect from a top lawyer.
2) Principal of reaping what you sow. The fact remains that Mr Vong was a recalcitrant petty criminal in such of easy money
Notwithstnding point#1, technicalities should not undermine the judgment, It is heartening to know that Mr Vong is repentant. But what I learned in NS is that if you dare to do something , make sure you accept the consequences.. good or bad..like a man.
It is sad that Vui Kong’s family have to go go through this trauma. But VK brought it on himself. Like the Led Zep song “yes there are 2 paths you can go by” .
I unashamedly support mandatory death penalty for drug traffickers!
Hi all,
I just want to say this.
The newly elected President should grant him a life-time imprisonment instead of the death penalty as a good PR gesture to the world and most importantly to Mr Vong.
Everyone makes a mistake in their life, but in mr .Vong’s case, his mistake is more grave. We recognize the fact that he was trafficking drug and should be punished for it. From the compassion point of view, I think the presidential committee should reconsider his case with his lawyer and grant him this amnesty for him to live. Personnally, I do not condone drug trafficker and I see this as a case by case basis.
I believe he is just a pawn, we should go for the mastermind instead.
I think hanging him is not going to change anything at all.
Some have been hung for similar offense yet cases of drug abuse is still being heard.
Hanging a person for such crime is just taking the easy way out.
Yes, many lives are spoilt by drugs. Then again, we have to look at ourselves also. Have we been giving proper education to our friends and loved one on the dangers of drugs so that they would avoid it?
I believe that so long as there are no consumers, there will be no pushers and traffickers.
We should first remedy the cause – consumption of drugs.
No consumers = No demand
There are other ways of preventing the problem from continuing. Hanging is not one of them.
I strongly believe that our lawmakers are able to come up with something that acts as a better deterrent to other would be traffickers without the need to take away one’s life.
The other main social problem that destroys lives is GAMBLING.
People take their own lives, get into serious debts and families split all because of gambling.
So shouldn’t the ones guilty of promoting such activities also be brought to task for destroying others’ lives?
I just wonder….
Drug abuse is still seen in Singapore but it is never high. And thats the biggest problem. Drug abusers knows that the death penalty is here and still they buy Heroin and Opium or anything that they want. Why do you think they do that? Its because the drugs are addictive. And very addicting. You want to know how bad. Just look for pictures and documentaries of people rying to quit drug addiction.
No consumer no demand is impossible. Everyone knows drugs is bad for health and so does cigarettes, fatty food. How many of us still consume those?
Gambling is a big social issue. However it still gives far more benefit than cons. Anyway, its not as if the government is asking you to gamble. Or would you prefer the government ban Singaporeans from gambling or stop Singaporeans from entering a casino in Singapore?
It will take a great man to dare change the death penalty. Wonder who will that be. Gorbachev did a great thing when he was president USSR. Who will it be for Singapore to change the death penalty ?
Very simple. You know Drug Trafficking is punishable by death. Then in the first place why do you want to do it? Now asking for appeal against death sentence? It is about people framing him, I think all these big hoo ha make sense.
But it is about him knowing what is wrong and purposely doing it, then I think he don’t deserve to be given another chance.
If death sentence was to remove, it will be life sentence too which is as good as death too.
In the first place, what are we arguing about? Is it about death penalty being too inhuman or about the drug trafficker should not be hang.
1) Death Penatly – For major crimes like drug trafficking , kidnapping and murder. I think it is valid because seriously people will think twice before killing someone they really hate. You want to see your love ones being kidnapped and you being escort for money? Normally kidnapping will includes chopping fingers and toes. Drug is really harmful. Imagine we are so strict and yet people have ways to bring drugs into Singapore ? People still dare to do so. So what does it implies? If you want to take the risk of drug trafficking and you get caught, then you got to face with the punishment.
before him so many drug trafickers had been hanged,how about them who going to bring back them???
all those who think and insinuate that DRUGS is really harmful and need to be undercontrol is just looking at one side of the coin of deceiving philosophy. Only few really know the fact that prescribed drugs from legalised hospitals killed more innocent patients than those ‘out-lawed’ illegalised drug on the streets. Think again, was it that the government is not collecting enough from the GST from illegal drug traffickers or was it the lives of the citizens they are more concerned. Be humane in judging any victim especially of such tender age. Every one makes mistake in life and I appeal Singapore Judiciary institution to be humanistic-growing centric rather than being ‘self-righteous’. Give this young man a second chance, i say, he deserved to be hanged, we all deserved to be ‘hanged’ too, but second chance is given every time. Learn the Malaysians spirit, how they even raised fund to saved a Singaporean Malay girl court case, also caught with drugs, in Malaysia. Just because commoner local citizens have not the political leverage,their cases just went thru the motion and get hanged. Is our law healthy and growing or has it withered and died?
Death penalty should be abolished. There are many form of punishment that can be meted out. Killing people in this manner is inhuman.
Drugs will kill and split families, just like gambling.
I have seen the effects of drugs on addicts, family members and friends and had en ex army buddy who was hung more than 20 years ago.
The death penalty is effective, and is a good deterrent, but 46g and given his age. He is but a young boy no older than many of our children or nephews or nieces. Thus personally I do not know but do pray that the judges will give him another chance. Perhaps a long jail term. He may have harmed many in his trafficking, and may know the consequences, but it is mercy that he and his family is asking for.
Why don’t take this as an isolated case, as the deterrent and justice demanded may not justify his execution and the premature termination of a young life and the desperate appeals of his family.
A chance to live is all he is asking for. He may not have given some of his victims choice and had chosen badly, But that does not mean that we cannot show mercy.
Frederic, your case of China is totally irrelevant because of historical context. The colonial powers plied the Chinese people with opium with the connivance of corrupt Chinese officials. Is Singapore any of this???
Consider his back ground and the circumstance. Please spare his life.Thereafer he will appreciate life and hopefully help others not to be in this situation.
Mandatory sentencing is unjust for several reasons including:
(i) Its inflexibility (and consequent inability to take account of the circumstances of the offence and the offender), which will inevitably lead to harsh, unfair and discriminatory outcomes;
(ii) its potential or actual violation of international human rights law;
(iii) the shift of discretion from the judiciary to the police, which is less visible and less accountable (lack of review);
(iv) the prospect of fewer guilty pleas and the resulting additional cost and delay.
Evidence from USA & Australia is said to indicate that mandatory sentencing does not produce the effects of deterrence, selective incapacitation and crime reduction which are its stated justifications and does produce a range of damaging side effects in terms of distortion of the judicial process, widely disproportionate sentencing, additional financial and social costs and deepening social exclusion of individuals and particular communities.
The U.S. experience is particularly useful because mandatory sentencing provisions have been enacted there since the 1950s. In the United States the 1990 U.S. Sentencing Commissions report Minimum Mandatory Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System was described as demonstrating:
“…that mandatory minimum sentencing laws unwarrantedly shift discretion from judges to prosecutors, result in higher trial rates and lengthened case processing times, arbitrarily failed to acknowledge salient differences between cases and often punish minor offenders much more harshly than anyone believes is warranted. Interviews with judges, lawyers and probation officers at twelve sites showed that heavy majorities of judges, defence counsel and probation officers disliked mandatory penalties; prosecutors are about evenly divided. Finally, and perhaps not surprisingly given the other findings, the report shows that judges and lawyers not uncommonly circumvent mandatories”.
Research in Australia indicates that the shift from judicial to prosecutorial discretion is already occurring. While this may deflect the harsh application of the mandatory sentencing provisions, it has the undesirable connotation of closed door and unaccountable justice which is inimical to the criminal justice system.
The cheap attraction of mandatory sentences was well described by the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery, writing:
“If one says ‘mandatory life imprisonment’ quickly and often, without thinking about it too deeply, it sounds tough and that is what politicians like to do. It is easier and cheaper than taking time & committing resources to the development of policies that can address the causes of crime and reduce its incidence. The ‘tough’ approach appeals to people who are driven by retribution; and they vote”.
The tragedy of mandatory sentencing provisions can be seen from a few examples of their application. Margaret Wynbyne was sentenced to 14 days for stealing a can of beer. This sentence cost Australian taxpayers $2,400. Kevin Cook was jailed for a year on a third strike offence for stealing a towel to use as a blanket. More examples of clearly disproportionate sentences can be given from many countries.
For Singapore – just read the daily newspapers on verdicts of mandatory sentencing and ask yourself if proportionate justice was done in each sentence or not.