diddy

Yep, agreed, our (blimey I say ours now, when I mean Australia - I guess I'm finally to start to feel at home) laws as well as those in the UK are quite leniet. This should of smuggling should result in a longer sentence, but like you I really don't see how the death penalty can operate, especially in corrupt countries.

Larissa

The problem with killing someone is that it is completely irreversible, there is absolutely no concept of mercy or grace in this case. People can change, perhaps Nguyen could be a good citizen after another punishment and rehabilitation. Also setting up someone like this as a deterent doesn't work, the people behind the whole thing have not been caught.
What difference will one mans death and the confiscation of that relatively small amount of heroin have on the drug taking population?
Yes, the guy was stupid, perhaps desperate, but should he really be set up as a scapegoat?

mercador

Yes, you're completely wrong about that. It's still the territory of Singapore, the only question is which Singapore authority had jurisdiction.

Can't wait for the scum to be dangling, personally.

diddy

Doesn't this also presuppose that we're all right to judge Van Nguyen by his choice of drug. Most of us have been sh*t faced on booze. Many of us have got in fights and acted like a dickhead after a few beers but we all justify the effect of alcohol to maintain it's legality. There's plenty of beered up alcoholics sat in my local at 8.30 am on a Monday and the way Schoolies is going down at the moment, maybe we should ban booze, so what makes Singapore and others so right to say we should kill him for the effects of a different drug.

Hels

Its not the mules that are the true scum....they are generally people that are quite often venerable enough to be put in the position where they have minimal options and its the dealers higher up the 'drug chain' that prey on them and put them in the life threatening positions....

Now if we were talking about the Drug lords and manufacturers of the drugs that hit our streets....then hang the bastards and I would flick that switch..

As long as you could fully prove it of course...

NKSK version 2

Capital punishment is just an official form of revenge.

diddy

Indeed.

An interesting statistic that came out of the States a few years ago was that it cost more money to execute someone than it does to keep them in prison for the rest of their lives.

That said, I still find it hard to comprehend people when they base execution arguments on economics.

diddy

Thought I'd add this from a Yahoo article:

Singapore has "possibly the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population," Amnesty said, adding that those hanged included a "significant percentage" of foreigners.

Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry said in response to AFP queries earlier this year that eight Singaporeans and foreigners had been hanged in 2004 and 19 in 2003.

Amnesty, the London-based human rights watchdog, cited a UN report showing that from 1994 to 1999, Singapore had a rate of 13.57 executions per one million people -- the highest globally.

Saudi Arabia was in second place with a rate of 4.65 per million, followed by Belarus at 3.20, Sierra Leone at 2.84, Kyrgyzstan at 2.8, Jordan at 2.12 and China at 2.01.

The largest overall number of executions for the same period took place in China, followed by Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Nigeria and Singapore, Amnesty said.

Of the 174 Singapore executions reported in the press between 1993 and 2003, 93 were foreigners, Amnesty said.

Many are believed to be migrant workers, including nationals from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ghana, the Netherlands, Britain and Portugal.

In 1995, Filipina domestic worker Flor Contemplacion was hanged for the murder of a fellow Filipina domestic worker and a Singaporean boy, sparking a storm of public outrage in the Philippines that nearly wrecked diplomatic ties.

With another Filipina maid, Guen Aguilar, facing a possible death sentence here for the killing in September of fellow domestic worker Jane La Puebla, diplomats from both sides have taken steps to prevent a political fallout.

Another execution in 1995, involving Macau-born Angel Mou Puipeng, "also caused diplomatic alarm," Amnesty said.

The 25-year-old Hong Kong resident was hanged after being granted a temporary reprieve to spend Christmas with her nine-year-old son.

Samydorai of Think Centre said Singapore is one of the very few developed countries which has kept the death penalty for non-violent crimes like drug trafficking.

CasG

Quite basic really, and not sure if all would agree...

Abide by the laws of the country you are in..

Capital punishment has been a contentious issue for as long as there have been laws....but it is not until someone is due to be executed that the public raise there voice........if people are that against it, then lobby !

NedKelly

They should have drip fed him all his poison and then forced him to go cold turkey.

BartSimpson

What revenge..........?
Is that right the amount of drugs he was carrying enough to make 5% of Melboune addict... ?
I think the issue is over hyped... in news... there are 100 sorry 1000's killed in name of human rights no one to raise voice...
Why did we did not raise voice for Niger... that hungry place in Africa... why was it not the head line in all the news....
All news channel know is Leslie Michelle... only SBS gave fair justic to all the stories....
coming back... I think we as an australian has made hype of issue. We cannot go to Singapore and enfore or ask them to amend their law and then enfore sanctions... boys are we deplomat or a capitalist person like uncle sam..
its stupidity to carry drugs... as Mr. John Howard expressed 100's of times... and this case is not of 2 tablet its 400 + gms of drugs... senstive issue...
I have no soft corner of revenge... but trust if someone in our house is been addicted with the same... can we forgive such person..

NedKelly

Amnesty are the biggest bunch of armchair left wing bleeding heart liberal t***pots ever to sit on their fat ar**s. Don't listen to a word of their human rights crap.

andrew63

[QUOTE=diddy]1) An interesting statistic that came out of the States a few years ago was that it cost more money to execute someone than it does to keep them in prison for the rest of their lives.

2) maybe we should ban booze, so what makes Singapore and others so right to say we should kill him for the effects of a different drug.

3) Thought I'd add this from a Yahoo article:QUOTE]

Diddy
Are you serious?
1) Ridiculous
2) Alcohol is hardly addictive compared to heroin (100 times less)
3) All those stats and not one that metioned that the number of drug addicts in Singapore is considerably lower than many other countries per capita.

Andrew

Scossie

In Singapore, drug traffickers get the death penalty.
Van Nguyen knew that in Singapore, drug traffickers get the death penalty.
He then decided that he would attempt to traffic drugs through Singapore.
Where is the debate??

Whether or not we agree or disagree with his sentence is irrelevant.
It is the law of the land, (which we have no right to question) in Singapore, and I'm sure lots of us Oz migrants will testify that there are signs and posters everywhere in Changi Airport informing us of the fate that awaits drug traffickers if they are caught.

Do we say, "let Van Nguyen off. He was just a nice guy who was unlucky to be caught?"
I think not!

While I do in a way feel sorry for him, he knew what he was doing and he knew the risk he was taking.
But he was still dim enough to go through with it, so maybe removing him from the gene pool might not be such a bad thing for The Human Race.

banjo

the law is the law and if people want to reap the possible benefits of their crime, they should also be prepared to take the consequences. That said.....killing this bloke will have zero impact on drug smuggling and peddling - the big crime bosses will just use some other poor person. For my money the government do not do enough to help their citizens when they become trapped in unjust and antiquated judicial systems.