Recently there is much controversy over the death sentence of 25-year-old Nguyen, a
Vietnamese-born Australian. He was caught trafficking 396 grams of heroin from
Cambodia to Australia via Singapore in 2002. He told police he was smuggling the
consignment to help pay off debts owed by his twin brother, who was a drug addict.

Having lived in SG my entire life, I would say the death penalty is quite a good
deterrent for major crimes. A lot of people I know actually are quite for this, not
because we are sadistic or inhumane, but the evils HUMANS can do are sometimes way
beyond comprehension.

However, cases like Nguyen's make me wonder if having a mandatory death sentence is
fair. He was just a victim of circumstances. On first look, it seems that our law
system is quite noble, in that we will deal with drug traffickers seriously so that
the drugs that are trafficked will not ruin the lives of many many more others' sons
and daughters. But, if that is the case, why don't we just penalized all drug users
and traffickers alike? Kill off the demand and the supply will dwindle. But kill off the supply,
the demand will probably just go up and there will be many more Nguyens appearing.

Just hang them all, why not!

Well, the govt cannot do that, of course. Take a step back and you will see a clearer
picture. Drug Traffickers are usually the poor. They are the ones who need cash and
desperate enough to be the scapegoats for the drug lords (the REAL people earning the $).
If they make it, then good for them and if they don't, the drug lords have nothing
to lose. There will be many poor people waiting to carry the goods!

On the other hand, Drug Users are mostly the rich or better-to-do folks. Drugs cost $$$, you know?
And in SG, drugs aren't cheap! You have to have 'proper' connections to get even an
ecstacy pill or cocaine! You have to be willing to pay for the few minutes of
enjoyment! But try being a drug user if you are poor, and you will probably have
to go cold turkey (not that it is a bad thing!) coz nobody will want to give you
drugs for free after going through the obstacles to bring the drugs in.

So my point is, the mandatory death sentence for trafficking drugs is really not as
righteous as our govt makes it out to be. It is just an easy way to get rid of the poor,
the desperate, the gullible and stupid (you have got to be really stupid to agree to
traffick drugs to SG!). Executing you is better than having to pay for 5-star prison
buildings to house you and feeding you for life on taxpayers' $. afterall, in SG,

taxpayers' money = govt's money.
every cent spent on prisoners = one cent lost for our govt.


But of course, if you are rich, have connections, and traffick drugs to SG and got
caught, that is another story. A bonus if you are a WHITE foreigner. Because then,
you will be able to afford the best lawyer, have the $$ to throw into re-weighing
and re-weighing the drug contents in specialised labs until the pure amount 'evaporated'
etc. etc. So far, the only way to escape the gallows is when the drugs you carried
are not 'PURE' enough to convict you.


The purpose of my post is, I want to tell all fellow sporeans and SG govt not to
be too stubborn or self-righteous, or proud about our strict laws. Laws should
not be dead (as demonstrated already by our elitist law system). There is nothing
to gloat about how Nyugen deserved it. There is also nothing to be proud about
or strict laws, instead, we should be ashamed of our cowardly way of living which
was always mistaken as civil obedience.

Afterall, Nguyen was intending to traffick the drugs into AU, and unfortunately,
got caught in SG. Our police force should have just pass the tip-off to the AU
immigration dept and let them handle Nguyen. Whether they want to hang him or let
him bring in the drugs, it's entirely up to them! Nothing to do with SG. And we
would not be drag into this controversy for nothing! Now that AU wants him back,
fine,just return him lah! What's the problem??? We have enough problems in
our own backyard without having to sort out theirs for them.

We have sg soldiers stationing in AU, many many locals studying in AU, many many
families who have emigrated to AU, rich folks having properties in AU, even our
national airlines have big biz flying to and fro AU... what is there to stop us
from 'selling' this 'favour' or in chinese, 卖个人情 to AU? Make a friend, not an
enemy. Why alienate them just because we want to show how STRICT our laws are, or
how obedient we are to conform to the state's laws, or.. or .. how we won't give in
to pressure even though we are just a little dot.. etc etc..??

Lastly, i want to remind you again, we are still a little red dot.

- - - - - - -

THE FINAL DAYS ON DEATH ROW

Monday: Prayer vigil in Nguyen's childhood parish church, Saint Ignatius, Richmond.

Tuesday: Visiting hours extended from 8.30am to 9.30am and from 12.30pm to 1.30pm.

Wednesday: Visiting continues. Family members can see prisoner more than once a day.

Thursday, final visiting day: Meets his executioner, Darshan Singh, and is weighed
for the gallows. Orders special final meal, within prison budgets.

Friday: Nguyen to be hanged at 6am (9am Sydney time), accompanied by priest Gregoire
Van Giang. Bells at St Ignatius Richmond will toll 25 times to mark each year of his
life. By 1pm, family members have to remove his remains.

Source: The Sun-Herald