Friday, November 14, 2008

Death sentence for Malaysian trafficker in Singapore

This is a report from AFP,
Death sentence for Malaysian trafficker in Singapore

SINGAPORE, Nov 14, 2008 - A Malaysian drug trafficker has been sentenced to death in Singapore for a crime he committed as a teenager, a report and court official said Friday.

Yong Vui Kong was convicted of trafficking 47 grams (1.65 ounces) of heroin, The Straits Times website reported.

"Apparently he has been sentenced to death," a High Court official told AFP shortly after the sentence was issued. The official was unable to provide further details.

Yong was 19 when he became a drug courier last year, driving into Singapore from neighbouring Malaysia with the contraband, The Straits Times reported.

He wiped away tears after the sentence was delivered, the report said.

Under Singapore's tough anti-drug laws, the death penalty is mandatory for anyone caught trafficking more than 15 grams of heroin, 30 grams of cocaine or 500 grams of cannabis.

In December 2004 the city-state hanged 25-year-old Australian drug runner Nguyen Tuong Van, despite appeals for clemency by Prime Minister John Howard.

Two convicted African drug traffickers were put to death last year after their appeals for clemency were turned down and despite protests from the United Nations and rights activists.

Despite harsh criticism from rights groups, Singapore says the death penalty plays a key role in keeping crime rates low and is a strong deterrent to crime syndicates.
Here are four articles/reports on the death penalty in Singapore:
The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: A Violation of International Human Rights Law - 2007 report by the International Drug Policy Consortium

Singapore's stand at UN leaves many angered - 2007 news article from IPS

The Mandatory Death Sentence by K S Rajah, SC - 2005 essay for the Law Society of Singapore's Law Gazette

Singapore: The death penalty - A hidden toll of executions - 2004 Amnesty International report
These are two of the reports, mentioned above, which i've uploaded to my scribd,

Death Penalty for Drug Offences: A Violation of International Human Rights Law
Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Law International


Singapore Death Penalty - A hidden toll of executions
Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Business Law life human

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can giving STRESS to citizens be made a criminal offence? That will be fair enough. :P

Hey... he is only 20 now :( Why don't the government change death penalty on drugs to a maximum of life imprisonment?? After all it is 47grams. And ridiculously be exchanged with a life? Sad and sickening!! Although I had drug offenders... but this? and the age? Sad mannn..

AnnA

Anonymous said...

Oops.. should have said

Although I HATE (not had) drugs offenders... but this?.........

Sorry.. typed wrongly :P

AnnA