Lawyers for Liberty, a Malaysian group which is against the death penalty, has called on the Malaysian government to raise the case of Yong Vui Kong with Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, who is on a one-day visit to the country.
Prime Minister Lee is accompanied on the trip by Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, and Law Minister and Second Home Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam.
Prime Minister Lee met with his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak, on Tuesday.
“Lawyers for Liberty is of the view that there are good grounds for the Singaporean authorities to review the death penalty decision as there were flaws in the clemency process,” said Eric Paulsen, the group’s representative.
“Since the case deals with a death sentence, and more so with a young person, it is incumbent on the authorities to halt the execution and re-examine the whole judicial and clemency process,” he added.
Mr Madasamy Ravi, the lawyer for Yong, had highlighted these flaws, which included the Singapore Law Minister, Mr K Shanmugam, making certain remarks a week before the Court of Appeal laid down its judgement on Yong’s appeal. Mr Ravi feels that this may have prejudiced his client’s constitutional rights.
Yong, a Malaysian from the state of Sabah, was 19-years old when he was arrested for trafficking in 47g of heroin into Singapore in 2007. He was subsequently found guilty by the courts and sentenced to hang. Mr Ravi has since fought a tireless campaign to have this sentence commuted. He has also urged the Malaysian government to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice to ascertain if the Singapore government’s actions have offended “the rules of natural justice, due process and the Constitution.”
The Malaysian authorities have since contacted Mr Ravi and its Law Minister is expected to meet with him sometime this week.
The media in Malaysia has in the past week or so picked up on the case as well, including this latest report on Malaysiakini. The Singapore media, on the other hand, has opted to keep silent on Yong’s case and Mr Ravi’s campaign to save his client from the gallows.
Malaysia is one of three Asian countries, along with Singapore and Thailand, which has the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking.
Singapore is believed to be among the countries with the most number of judicial executions.
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Headline picture courtesy of Channel NewsAsia
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“We are deaf to all criticisms.”
- LSS
mbt accompanied lhl tour to Kuala Lumpur to discuss further of future development of the KTMB Tanjung Pagar land.While Shymugam to dicuss the extradition or so-called barter trade between fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari and Sabahan Yong Vui Kong.
TOC,
That link on malaysiakini in your report is actually a letter by K Gan to the editor, June22.
Will Malaysian PM Najib Razak discuss with Singapore PM LHL concerning the Singapore imposed mandatory death sentence on a Malaysian boy – whose appeal case was prejudiced by the Singapore Law Minister’s remarks ?
The discussion may bring attention back to the two Malaysian policemen who were convicted for murdering the Mongolian model – by blowing her up with C4 plastic explosive, and silence seems to have shrouded the entire affair since the trial ended more then a year ago.
It will open up the case of these two policemen from the special squad assigned to guarding Malaysian Government Ministers, and got tangled up with murdering the Mongolian woman, who was reported to have a relationship with the Malaysian PM’s personal adviser – another Razak.
http://www.newnation.vg/forums/showthread.php?t=103275
http://www.smartho.com/2008/10/21/beautiful-mongolian-model-altantuya-shaariibuu-pictures.html
One word: Anwar.
lee can buy a gift for malaysia minister a ball and a scratching poll for malaysia minister kitten a persian kitten and what a shame that he can’t simply buy a small gift and hand over to poor singaporeans similar to a stray kitten/cats on the streets? coz we are strays? my goodness what a man. keep it up and go on
Stupid sgpren, stupid judicial