Taiwan 'moving toward' abolishing death penalty

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbsJdTf5tcjDZLcrdauhgH4Xfg1dzKThUwq9PUAQL_K0hbpHfdHPgwcA2J9YRcIroTQlVi4IeGVO1g3en1z8v0yMEVSSHHW9bwodPnMrBrty_DshIDMQSY-UjJ8slSXBxFzcjY9MrrvI/s1600/Taiwan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Taiwan" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbsJdTf5tcjDZLcrdauhgH4Xfg1dzKThUwq9PUAQL_K0hbpHfdHPgwcA2J9YRcIroTQlVi4IeGVO1g3en1z8v0yMEVSSHHW9bwodPnMrBrty_DshIDMQSY-UjJ8slSXBxFzcjY9MrrvI/s400/Taiwan.jpg" title="Taiwan" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Ministry of Justice yesterday responded to EU calls to abolish capital punishment by saying that Taiwan's justice system is moving toward that goal in the long term, adding that a high percentage of Taiwanese still favor the death penalty for certain crimes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Taiwan, China, Japan and the US were among the nations criticized in the Council of the EU's Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2015, which was released on Monday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The report said that 101 countries have abolished the death penalty, as the EU reaffirmed "its opposition to the death penalty and use of all diplomatic tools at its disposal to advance the cause of worldwide abolition."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The EU deplored the continuing use of the death penalty in various parts of the world: Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Belarus, Egypt, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the USA were a particular focus of attention," it added, as the EU urged these nations to abolish capital punishment. Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang yesterday said the ministry's ultimate goal is to abolish capital punishment in Taiwan, "but current public surveys indicate that 82 % of the people are against abolition of the death penalty."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chen said the ministry has undertaken 4 measures toward this long-term objective: ending legal requirements for "mandatory capital punishment" for certain crimes; taking steps for the judiciary to deliberate on "discretionary capital punishment"; handing out the death penalty with extreme prudence; and carrying out the death penalty with extreme prudence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We are currently reviewing and assessing this issue," Chen said. "The ministry will take very careful approaches on handling this issue and carrying out the death penalty, before our nation has formally abolished it," Chen said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other judicial officials said that the ministry is still responsible for policies on the death penalty, and that the nation's laws still retain the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Taipei Times, June 22, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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The Ministry of Justice yesterday responded to EU calls to abolish capital punishment by saying that Taiwan's justice system is moving t...

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Malaysia may amend death penalty: Minister

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7ji2tP8LRymIBQTRNDafykHThERGQH3KjGn-T3hg07t52fXf6xUhCe3Lyy2SRr1QncvFsV9N6dkDiOxXXMviVl2XsbP9RkuVatyyabwk8nNkpMqRcekolIKaOlb7qBulwCNe-F1xpDg/s1600/Malaysia+Airport+Meth+Bust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Meth bust in Malaysia" border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7ji2tP8LRymIBQTRNDafykHThERGQH3KjGn-T3hg07t52fXf6xUhCe3Lyy2SRr1QncvFsV9N6dkDiOxXXMviVl2XsbP9RkuVatyyabwk8nNkpMqRcekolIKaOlb7qBulwCNe-F1xpDg/s400/Malaysia+Airport+Meth+Bust.jpg" title="Meth bust in Malaysia" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meth bust in Malaysia</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Malaysia may amend the death sentence mandatory for 12 criminal offences after government-backed studies showed that the capital punishment had not led to the desired effects.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“There are positive signs in Malaysia and a steady momentum towards possible change in the death penalty legislation,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri told the World Congress Against The Death Penalty in Oslo recently.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Currently, the death penalty is mandatory in Malaysia for 12 offences while 20 other offences are punishable with discretionary death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Murder, drug trafficking, and offences related to security are punishable with death, Nancy said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The minister said that a government-backed study on the death penalty had been completed and a paper was being readied by the Attorney General’s Chambers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The study was conducted by the International Centre For Law and Legal Studies (I-CeLLS).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Nancy said empirical studies showed that the death penalty had not led to “the deterring effect that such a penalty was created.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Although Malaysia is generally in compliance with international standards in so far as the relevant safeguards (on capital punishment) are concerned, Malaysia’s position on death penalty has always been subjected to national and international criticisms.” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/malaysia-may-amend-death-penalty-minister/255386.html" target="_blank">The Tribune</a>, June 22, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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Meth bust in Malaysia Malaysia may amend the death sentence mandatory for 12 criminal offences after government-backed studies showed that t...

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Malaysia government open to replacing death with life

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde7b6U00kwNAt6_7MWRM4XM37WvGyVeD7H1YPeyZiXu_8b-DCdPloLQFS8v82uVb5VwC64FbPQ3bFKv5zyDJQaNzOSBORJ8-SgKJLzglGPBXsYHHzKpKFIJfTzN3OcXq1YWMoOTQPavg/s1600/Three+Mexican+brothers+sentenced+to+death+in+Malaysia+for+drug+trafficking+in+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Three Mexican brothers sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking in 2012" border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde7b6U00kwNAt6_7MWRM4XM37WvGyVeD7H1YPeyZiXu_8b-DCdPloLQFS8v82uVb5VwC64FbPQ3bFKv5zyDJQaNzOSBORJ8-SgKJLzglGPBXsYHHzKpKFIJfTzN3OcXq1YWMoOTQPavg/s400/Three+Mexican+brothers+sentenced+to+death+in+Malaysia+for+drug+trafficking+in+2012.jpg" title="Three Mexican brothers sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking in 2012" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three Mexican brothers sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking in 2012</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">While the study on whether to keep the death penalty is ongoing, the Government is open to proposals on the matter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri says the Government is considering suggestions to improve the current justice system including whether to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment, as mooted by several parties including the Malaysian Bar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I really want to see the amendment to the mandatory death penalty be passed and implemented prior to the 14th general election," she tells Sunday Star.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nancy, who is the minister in charge of law, points out that the study requires a long time as a very comprehensive review needs to be carried out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Government needs to balance the interest of the accused, victim and public at large before making a decision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Whatever decision made will be done in the best interest of the rakyat," she says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Presently, the Attorney-General's Chambers is conducting an in-depth study on the death penalty in Malaysia, studying the legal issues, policies and effectiveness of the punishment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Concurring with Amnesty International's call to abolish the death sentence, the Malaysian Bar hopes that it can be replaced - with life imprisonment instead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bar Council Human Rights Committee co-chairman Andrew Khoo says the Bar has passed several resolutions over the years, calling for capital punishment to be done away with.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We also call upon the Government to repeal all mandatory death sentences, because judges should be given the discretion in sentencing," he urges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He explains that mandatory sentencing robs judges of the opportunity to exercise their discretion to hand down other forms of punishment apart from the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It is an executive interference in the independence of the judiciary," Khoo adds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He also says the Government should release the findings of the study conducted on the death penalty once it is completed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are some who believe the death sentence should remain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Seri Shaik Daud Md Ismail stresses that Malaysia still needs the current mandatory death penalty for serious offences like drug trafficking and murder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Things should remain as per status quo. If we abolish the death sentence, there will be more crimes like drug trafficking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Although the death penalty has not reduced such cases in the past, removing it will only cause the number of cases to spike drastically," he opines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shaik Daud, once a prosecutor with the Attorney-General's Chambers, believes the death sentence is a deterrent and doing away with it will only embolden more criminals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He also says that the death penalty should continue to be made mandatory for serious crimes such as terrorism and drug trafficking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"In the past, before the death sentence was made mandatory for drug trafficking, judges had the option of handing down life sentences as an alternative.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"When I was prosecuting in such cases last time, most judges went for the alternative but it wasn't a strong deterrent," he says, adding that the Government later decided to do away with the alternative punishment and imposed the mandatory death sentence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is also more practical for the Government to keep the death sentence, he says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"If we change all death sentences to life imprisonment, the Government would have to bear the costs of housing and feeding them (the convicted) to look after them for the rest of their lives.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Why should tax payers be burdened by this when the criminals have done heinous crimes?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shaik Daud notes that such prisoners would have time to reflect on their deeds before their execution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Senior lawyer Tan Sri Khalid Ahmad Sulaiman says the death penalty should be used based on circumstances and only if the intent to commit serious crimes especially murder, is proven.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Otherwise, it should be replaced with life imprisonment," says the former Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board chairman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Star, June 19, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Abolition Costs deterrence Drug trafficking Malaysia Mandatory death penalty Malaysia government open to replacing death with life

Three Mexican brothers sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking in 2012 While the study on whether to keep the death penalty is o...

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Singapore Anti Death Penalty Campaign: Gather passions and determination to reform the criminal justice system

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTGCQ0rIhuDV1fb0Qb1vPZI1s-c-BJtwAEwykdHqD19Hlz0ProGXLqit4ICjmfeER-pE06N-1KhyphenhyphenlC0BtRlEbQ6kjSxZ15nPja2aHvqSv3X32AeSpurscRLbf1RG_J-Sx2y2ZTeomxfk/s1600/Screenshot+from+Apprentice+by+by+Boo+Junfeng.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Screenshot from "Apprentice", a film by Boo Junfeng (2016)" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTGCQ0rIhuDV1fb0Qb1vPZI1s-c-BJtwAEwykdHqD19Hlz0ProGXLqit4ICjmfeER-pE06N-1KhyphenhyphenlC0BtRlEbQ6kjSxZ15nPja2aHvqSv3X32AeSpurscRLbf1RG_J-Sx2y2ZTeomxfk/s400/Screenshot+from+Apprentice+by+by+Boo+Junfeng.jpg" title="Screenshot from "Apprentice", a film by Boo Junfeng (2016)" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenshot from "Apprentice", a film by Boo Junfeng (2016)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The recent hanging of Kho Jabing despite exhausting all legal avenues was a dampener. There are insurmountable obstacles staring down at those amongst us who take up the dogged fight of standing up for the repeal of the death penalty in Singapore.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The amendments to the Penal Code in 2013 following the celebrated judgement of Yong Vui Kong which spared him from the gallows, allowing judges greater discretion in meting out alternative punishments rather than being compelled to sentence the accused to death by hanging according to the mandatory death penalty. This is a start and an inch closer towards eventual repeal of the death penalty. But it is also equally pertinent to note that the move towards greater discretionary sentencing did not come about by chance nor handed to us on a silver platter. It was won and fought for by activists, lawyers, idealists and most importantly, us Singaporeans. The collective action of civil society groups have helped raise awareness amongst the public about the injustices of the death penalty and compelled the administration to take heed of the compelling arguments against the mandatory death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The work put in by civil society too, has led to the release of annual statistics of execution after it was stated in civil society groups' submissions to United Nation's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Singapore in 2010 that there was a lack of transparency in the number of executions carried out. However, there is still much more work to be done. Other information surrounding the death penalty in Singapore, such as demographics of the inmates on death row and identities of inmates who face imminent executions, continues to be shrouded in secrecy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It goes without saying that more should and can be done to pressure the authorities into greater transparency of such information. It cannot be that our government continues to justify the death penalty by regurgitating often-mentioned arguments that it 'deters crime'. We are all aware of the mendacity of the arguments that continue to be cited by the government in favour of retaining the death penalty, but what should stir our consciences more is the incomprehensible lack of public debate and deliberation on the death penalty. It says a lot when our citizenry are not active stakeholders in an issue as complex as the death penalty compared to foreign NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Such issues have far reaching implications on the kind of values we want to promote, justice and security. It is high time that we the people begin to become that spark- to illuminate and create a backdrop of enlightened, passionate deliberation and consultation on our views of the death penalty. Such ground-up efforts will not only serve as a clear, unequivocal message to the authorities on the general public's stance on such issues, but also help strengthen our sense of ownership, rights and understanding of natural justice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Where we have met with adversity and vilification, let us instead show fortitude and magnanimity. Let us come together to ensure that we can build a a system that we can all be proud of, where natural justice prevails. There goes a proverbial saying that if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, travel together. The road ahead may be paved with obstacles, but if we rally together and gather our fierce passions and determination to reform the criminal justice system, we will overcome.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Singapore Anti Death Penalty Campaign (SADPC) was formed in 2005 by a group of us. We are going to witness a spate of executions in the coming months. It's going to be a very trying period.We intend to organize training and advocacy workshop and other activities to equip new anti death penalty advocates with local and international advocacy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: theonlinecitizen.com, June 14, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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Screenshot from "Apprentice", a film by Boo Junfeng (2016) The recent hanging of Kho Jabing despite exhausting all legal avenues w...

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Singapore's heartless death penalty for drug traffickers

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvvKmGfmdEkktdj1DWzs-t7TOMhClw60dpjijhNGwedqMURulvl0EfELuYIDCE0kUj_-HS8yvlKCV8wxBBTuKp20K-l3M7EfFFyejcGjZWD-gjPZuUDzeCAGJOnMi6OoaDzKkDAgyzkY/s1600/Screenshot+from+Apprentice+by+by+Boo+Junfeng.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvvKmGfmdEkktdj1DWzs-t7TOMhClw60dpjijhNGwedqMURulvl0EfELuYIDCE0kUj_-HS8yvlKCV8wxBBTuKp20K-l3M7EfFFyejcGjZWD-gjPZuUDzeCAGJOnMi6OoaDzKkDAgyzkY/s400/Screenshot+from+Apprentice+by+by+Boo+Junfeng.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenshot from "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4660736/" target="_blank">Apprentice</a>" by Boo Junfeng (2016)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"The majority of people caught up in the drug trade worldwide come from impoverished backgrounds. One of the defendants in this case was earning a measly 25 US Dollars for each "bundle" of drugs that he delivered. That means he was making a pitiful few hundred dollars every time he took the risk of losing his life."</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the 1st of June, I watched the conclusion of a capital punishment heroin trafficking case in Singapore's Supreme Court. I was left profoundly disturbed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As Judge Choo Han Teck announced the sentences in court, the family members of the defendants erupted in pain. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, sons, daughters - their bodies shuddered in agony and tears streaked down their pained faces. Their heartbreaking cries reverberated softly through the crowded courtroom. 2 of the 3 co-defendants, Kalwant Singh and Norasharee Bin Gous, were sentenced to death by hanging. The 3rd defendant's life was spared for his "substantive assistance" to the authorities. He will be imprisoned for life instead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yet even in the presence of such acute intense human suffering, the courtroom proved to be the most unsympathetic of places. The judge, while allowing the families of the defendants to spend some time with their loved ones before they were taken to prison, declared that they could only meet for 10 minutes because he had "another matter to attend to". The public prosecutor instructed the guards to stop some family members from talking to the defendants, presumably because they were not part of the "immediate" family. Could the Singaporean justice system treat these defendants and their families with any more cruelty and indifference?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even as controversy over capital punishment rages worldwide, support for the death penalty in Singapore remains remarkably strong. Though a legislative change in 2012 made the death penalty no longer mandatory for drug traffickers, prosecutors and judges continue to impose capital punishment for non-violent drug offenses. The dominant Singaporean narrative is that the death penalty has been an effective deterrent against drug crime, despite a complete absence of academic evidence backing up such a viewpoint. As Oxford University professors Roger Hood and Carolyn Hoyle explain, "It has been argued that the death penalty is an indisputable deterrent to drug trafficking, but no evidence of a statistical kind has been forthcoming to support this contention." In fact, the death penalty is so accepted that it is often left out of mainstream public discourse. Not a single Singaporean media outlet covered this case or the resulting announcement of death sentences - a situation that would be unthinkable in other developed nations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is also a perception that Singapore has robust legal safeguards that prevent it from wrongfully convicting drug traffickers. Admittedly, Singapore enjoys strong rule of law. However, many might be surprised by the flimsiness of evidence that is accepted with such deadly punishments at stake. In this case, there is a serious question as to whether, Kalwant Singh, who acted as a drug courier, was actually aware that he was trafficking heroin. Singh has consistently claimed that he believed he was transporting "panparak" - a preparation of Indian betel leaf, areca nut and tobacco that is regularly consumed in Southeast Asia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only major piece of evidence that contradicts Singh's account is testimony from a co-defendant, Mohamed Yazid. Very conveniently, Yazid was spared the death penalty for his testimony against Singh. Singaporean law allows drug trafficking defendants who provide "substantive assistance" to the authorities to escape the death penalty, providing a strong incentive to testify against others, even dishonestly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the Court's own admission, "a person facing a capital drug offence may falsely implicate his co-accused so as to save himself from the gallows". Despite this recognition, in his written opinion, the judge comes to the conclusion that "Yazid ... had spoken the truth", thereby convicting Singh and sentencing him to death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We should never be comfortable executing people on the basis of such questionable evidence. [<i>We should </i>never <i>be comfortable executing people.</i> - DPN]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moreover, the fact that the majority of people caught up in the drug trade worldwide come from impoverished backgrounds is too often overlooked. It emerged that one of the defendants in the case was earning a measly one hundred Malaysian Ringgit (about 25 US Dollars) for each "bundle" of drugs that he delivered. That means he was making a pitiful few hundred dollars every time he took the risk of losing his life. The word "drug trafficker" often evokes images of a wealthy drug kingpin profiting royally off the suffering of addicts. In reality, those executed are very rarely the kingpins who command the drug trade. Instead, like the defendants in this case, they are mostly poor, low-level drug couriers who may have little knowledge of what they are getting themselves into.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There should be little doubt that Singapore's attitude towards the death penalty for drug traffickers is fraught with misperceptions and half-truths. With a better appreciation of the academic evidence on deterrence, uncertainty in the legal process and the impoverished background of most convicted drug traffickers, one would hope that Singaporeans might reconsider their position. Given the facts, it is hard to fathom how imposing the death penalty for non-violent drug crimes is consistent with basic ideals of fairness and proportionality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the verdict was delivered, the agonizing scene I encountered is one I will never forget. The distraught defendants and their families, separated almost entirely by glass, tried desperately to touch each other through a paper-thin slit in the wall. They barely managed to grasp each other's fingers or meet their lips for a fleeting last kiss. Perhaps, it is only by witnessing the utter state of despair in the courtroom, that people can truly comprehend the gravity of the death penalty. Maybe, after watching a drug trafficking case unfold for themselves, they will leave just as disturbed as I was.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: theonlinecitizen.com, Arjun Malik, June 12, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Drug trafficking Mandatory death penalty Singapore Singapore's heartless death penalty for drug traffickers

Screenshot from " Apprentice " by Boo Junfeng (2016) "The majority of people caught up in the drug trade worldwide come from ...

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