27 October 2005
Sad consequences for dealing in death
Recently, the Singapore government rejected appeals for clemency for an Australian drug trafficker sentenced to death. It was effectively the end of the road for the 25 year old Vietnamese Australian man. For a concise summary of his case and of efforts to secure a commutation of the sentence, read a report by the ABC.
What was more interesting was how this issue has sparked some ill-informed and in some cases, blatantly racist responses from average Australians. Some of the juicier responses (quoted verbatim with uncorrected spelling and grammatical errors) to topical questions (WHAT do you think of the death penalty? Is it an effective deterrent to serious crime? Or is it an unacceptable punishment, no matter what the crime?) posed on the News.com.au site follow.
A general observation I'd make is that Singapore's tough drug laws have been around since 1973. Before every commercial flight and cruise ship arrives in Singapore, passengers are reminded of the severe penalties for drug trafficking. These laws and their strict enforcement are well-known around the world. So it's frankly irrelevant whether Australians oppose these laws as the Singapore government doesn't make public policy to satisfy Australians. Everyone wishing to enter the country is expected to obey those laws, just as the reverse is true.
From: Scott
Comment: How is it that a man who smuggles drugs gets the death penalty, yet a Bali terrorist that kills hundreds, gets a 5 years suspended jail term?????
Scott, you may be a little challenged in geography and logic, so let me help you out. It's entirely possible for a man to get the death penalty for drug smuggling and a Bali terrorist to get a 5 year suspended jail term. That's because the Republic of Singapore has a legal system that is completely independent of that of the Republic of Indonesia; of which Bali is a province!
From: Steve
Comment: My best mate died of a heroin o/d caused by people like this. But still, taking more life doesn't solve the problem, even though he's not a real Australian we should still bomb Singapore and occupy their country for this act of aggression against an Australian citizen.
Steve, Australia would know all about bombing and occupying a country on the flimsiest of reasons, wouldn't it? You've had some practice lately. But seriously, suggesting Singapore be bombed will get you detained for inciting terrorism. But be sure to do this in Singapore. At least your family will know where you are, unlike Howard's proposed anti-terrorism laws. If you want a cure for drug addictions and overdoses, then treat the real cause by not trafficking drugs in the first place.
From: Bren
Comment: It makes me sick seeing fellow Australian in death penalty overseas, when if those countries' people come here and do crime we just throw them in prison and they are well looked after. Why don't we introduce death penalty here as well and let's see what they think?
Bren, some of your fellow Australians are the real reason for your sickness. It is they who choose to traffick drugs despite frequent warnings against doing so every time their airplane lands in Singapore. I daresay foreigners would think that it's about time Australia became serious about stopping drugs by introducing the death penalty.
From: Neil B
Comment: The Singapore Government is an unelected dictatorship with no real legitimacy. How can the execution of a drug trafficker be justified by a government that is well known for allowing the laundering of the proceeds of drug trafficking throughout the region through its financial system? This is morally wrong and the Australian Government should end its relationship as far as possible with this morally reprehensible regime.
Neil B, the Singapore government is in fact, democratically elected. More parties stand for election in Singapore than in Australia. But they don't often get voted in by average citizens because these citizens happen to believe the Singapore government does right by them. Like Australia, Singapore is a founding member of the Asia Pacific Group of the FATF. Like Australia, Singapore ratified the UN Vienna Convention 1988, enacted anti-money laundering laws with respect to narcotic offences and with respect to other serious offences, and has established a Financial Intelligence Unit to interdict money laundering activities. If this is allowing the laundering of drug money, then Australia is guilty of it as well, huh? By the way, wouldn't you regard governments that participate in illegal wars of aggression as illegitimate regimes? In contrast, I suggest governments that strongly protect their citizens against the misery of drugs are morally legitimate.
From: Geoff
Comment: Absolutely not. It encourages blood-thirsty revenge-based social standards which isn't this country or it's people. It's for the less gifted, third world countries only. Nigeria, Iraq, Indonesia, America...
Geoff, I'm confused. Is it more blood thirsty to hang a self-confessed drug trafficker or for Australia to prosecute an illegal war of aggression resulting in the deaths of 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilians?
From: Robert G
Comment: You've got to be kidding! In this 21st century, have we learned nothing of compassion or mercy? If the death penalty were an effective deterrent, there would be no drug crimes. This young man made a mistake. A big one. Probably the only one he has ever made. And for this one mistake, he pays with his life. These lethal, unforgiving nations should come into the 21st century.
Robert G, I'm not kidding that you and your loved ones are far safer from all forms of crime in Singapore than you are in any Australian city of comparable size. The tough laws on drug trafficking in Singapore work. And if Singaporeans disagreed with it, they would have voted the government out long ago. This young man had many opportunities to abandon his crime before reaching Singapore. But he chose to continue each time. So he is being held personally accountable for his actions. Personal accountability is something some Australians seem to have forgotten in the 21st century, don't you think?
From: Andrew F-R
Comment: Ironically, Singapore uses the fact it is a civil and safe place with little crime to justify a barbaric and outdated practice.
Andrew F-R, Singapore is a civil and safe place with little crime precisely because of a "barbaric and outdated" practice. It's a pity such civility and safety with little crime has become outdated in many parts of Australia. So I wait with bated breath for Australia to accept drug trafficking asylum seekers from Singapore.
What was more interesting was how this issue has sparked some ill-informed and in some cases, blatantly racist responses from average Australians. Some of the juicier responses (quoted verbatim with uncorrected spelling and grammatical errors) to topical questions (WHAT do you think of the death penalty? Is it an effective deterrent to serious crime? Or is it an unacceptable punishment, no matter what the crime?) posed on the News.com.au site follow.
A general observation I'd make is that Singapore's tough drug laws have been around since 1973. Before every commercial flight and cruise ship arrives in Singapore, passengers are reminded of the severe penalties for drug trafficking. These laws and their strict enforcement are well-known around the world. So it's frankly irrelevant whether Australians oppose these laws as the Singapore government doesn't make public policy to satisfy Australians. Everyone wishing to enter the country is expected to obey those laws, just as the reverse is true.
From: Scott
Comment: How is it that a man who smuggles drugs gets the death penalty, yet a Bali terrorist that kills hundreds, gets a 5 years suspended jail term?????
Scott, you may be a little challenged in geography and logic, so let me help you out. It's entirely possible for a man to get the death penalty for drug smuggling and a Bali terrorist to get a 5 year suspended jail term. That's because the Republic of Singapore has a legal system that is completely independent of that of the Republic of Indonesia; of which Bali is a province!
From: Steve
Comment: My best mate died of a heroin o/d caused by people like this. But still, taking more life doesn't solve the problem, even though he's not a real Australian we should still bomb Singapore and occupy their country for this act of aggression against an Australian citizen.
Steve, Australia would know all about bombing and occupying a country on the flimsiest of reasons, wouldn't it? You've had some practice lately. But seriously, suggesting Singapore be bombed will get you detained for inciting terrorism. But be sure to do this in Singapore. At least your family will know where you are, unlike Howard's proposed anti-terrorism laws. If you want a cure for drug addictions and overdoses, then treat the real cause by not trafficking drugs in the first place.
From: Bren
Comment: It makes me sick seeing fellow Australian in death penalty overseas, when if those countries' people come here and do crime we just throw them in prison and they are well looked after. Why don't we introduce death penalty here as well and let's see what they think?
Bren, some of your fellow Australians are the real reason for your sickness. It is they who choose to traffick drugs despite frequent warnings against doing so every time their airplane lands in Singapore. I daresay foreigners would think that it's about time Australia became serious about stopping drugs by introducing the death penalty.
From: Neil B
Comment: The Singapore Government is an unelected dictatorship with no real legitimacy. How can the execution of a drug trafficker be justified by a government that is well known for allowing the laundering of the proceeds of drug trafficking throughout the region through its financial system? This is morally wrong and the Australian Government should end its relationship as far as possible with this morally reprehensible regime.
Neil B, the Singapore government is in fact, democratically elected. More parties stand for election in Singapore than in Australia. But they don't often get voted in by average citizens because these citizens happen to believe the Singapore government does right by them. Like Australia, Singapore is a founding member of the Asia Pacific Group of the FATF. Like Australia, Singapore ratified the UN Vienna Convention 1988, enacted anti-money laundering laws with respect to narcotic offences and with respect to other serious offences, and has established a Financial Intelligence Unit to interdict money laundering activities. If this is allowing the laundering of drug money, then Australia is guilty of it as well, huh? By the way, wouldn't you regard governments that participate in illegal wars of aggression as illegitimate regimes? In contrast, I suggest governments that strongly protect their citizens against the misery of drugs are morally legitimate.
From: Geoff
Comment: Absolutely not. It encourages blood-thirsty revenge-based social standards which isn't this country or it's people. It's for the less gifted, third world countries only. Nigeria, Iraq, Indonesia, America...
Geoff, I'm confused. Is it more blood thirsty to hang a self-confessed drug trafficker or for Australia to prosecute an illegal war of aggression resulting in the deaths of 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilians?
From: Robert G
Comment: You've got to be kidding! In this 21st century, have we learned nothing of compassion or mercy? If the death penalty were an effective deterrent, there would be no drug crimes. This young man made a mistake. A big one. Probably the only one he has ever made. And for this one mistake, he pays with his life. These lethal, unforgiving nations should come into the 21st century.
Robert G, I'm not kidding that you and your loved ones are far safer from all forms of crime in Singapore than you are in any Australian city of comparable size. The tough laws on drug trafficking in Singapore work. And if Singaporeans disagreed with it, they would have voted the government out long ago. This young man had many opportunities to abandon his crime before reaching Singapore. But he chose to continue each time. So he is being held personally accountable for his actions. Personal accountability is something some Australians seem to have forgotten in the 21st century, don't you think?
From: Andrew F-R
Comment: Ironically, Singapore uses the fact it is a civil and safe place with little crime to justify a barbaric and outdated practice.
Andrew F-R, Singapore is a civil and safe place with little crime precisely because of a "barbaric and outdated" practice. It's a pity such civility and safety with little crime has become outdated in many parts of Australia. So I wait with bated breath for Australia to accept drug trafficking asylum seekers from Singapore.
