That's the problem with current coverage of parliamentary sessions, just disjointed clips and cuts of the proceedings with selective quotes and soundbites, to make the speakers look good, and gloss over their speech and delivery impediments. Upon closer scrutiny, it turns out the epic announcement was just a proposed easing of the mandatory death penalty in some drug and murder cases, but not an absolute abolishment of the ultimate punishment that human rights groups worldwide still condemn as barbaric.
To avoid execution by hanging for drug trafficking, two specific conditions must be met, elaborated deputy prime minister Teo Chee Hean. First, the accused must have acted only as a courier, with no other part to play in the supply or distribution. Second, a courier could be spared if he co-operates with the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) "in a substantive way" or can be proved to have a “mental disability” that prevents them from appreciating the full gravity of their action. Commenting, lawyer Hri Kumar wanted to know to what extent can you say someone has "substantively co-operated" with CNB. Needless to say, submissive compliance in a dimly lit carpark is out of the equation.
When it comes to dispensation of the gift of human life, they are as stingy as same tightwads who doled out the GST rebate vouchers. Draft legislation implementing the proposed changes to the application of the death penalty will be introduced in Parliament only later this year. Surely they could expedite this important exercise, since there are currently 35 persons on death row, of which 28 are for drug offences and 7 for murder. Mr Shanmugam stressed that lawyers should "carefully study the legislation when it is enacted and properly understand the precise scope of the changes" before giving legal advice to their clients. In plain English, don't set your hopes up too high.
Alan Shadrake, the British author who was jailed last year for criticisms of Singapore’s judiciary in his book "Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock", is grateful for small mercies, “It’s not the end of the death penalty. But it’s a move in the right direction that no-one really expected.” After all, in 2005, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had personally dismissed Australia’s calls to commute the death sentence for Australian drug smuggler Nguyen Tuong Van.
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Its a step in the right direction. And we hope to one day see the death penalty not as a norm but as an exception, that is almost never invoked. No one in Parliament was agitating for this change in our death penalty laws...certainly not the WP.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why the ruling party initiated this change?
The timing is indeed curious.
DeleteNot all Singaporeans are receptive of the initiative. Someone wrote on Yahoo Singapore:
"Why do we need to lower our threshold? To appease foreigners who grew up with drugs?
This government is selling our future."
Indeed the timing is strange.
DeletePerhaps, now that Mr M Ravi has gain some attention with his acting for Mdm Vellu of Hougang and his invitation to the UN to give his take on Human Rights, his Vui Kong's Appeal has been put on fast track ?
Or it is a bargain plea worked out with the Mastermind of that Vui Kong case ?
Interesting times, these days. The AGC sure had its hands full.
The Asean Human Rights Declaration Forum is taking place soon in Cambodia, with no other than Hillary Clinton scheduling to appear. Looks like somebody is eager to please and meet the adoption standards, and a minor tweak and giving way will ensure we are playing 'our small part', perhaps will open more doors to future trade with our neighbors of the gold triangles.
DeleteWe must have the lady to thank for!
Yes, good insight...this change in the MDP could have been an attempt to improve our image.
DeleteThere are many issues relating to the almost unlimited discretionary powers of the AGC. One case is that of Ravinthran vs the AG, where Arujunan got off lightly because of his low IQ, and during the appeal Justice Rajah commented: "Is it proper prosecutorial discretion to salami slice the physical evidence?"
DeleteCoincidence? Steven Chong was appointed as the new Attorney General on 25 June, and sworn in on 2nd July. He may want to move some discretionary powers from the AGC back to the courts, so he possibly could have had a big say in this MDP decision. Many judges also feel that their hands are tied in MDP cases relating to drug offences.
From Yahoo :
ReplyDelete"Teo maintained that all trafficking and manufacturing crimes will still be given the mandatory death penalty for kingpins and organisers of syndicates."
How many real kingpins and master syndicate organizers have they busted, trialed and sent to gallows in the past, really? And how many dead couriers who were hanged and given them "substantive information" had led to them solving or extraditing kingpins exactly? How willing would they truly be prepared to deploy massive resources to go after them, given most would be on an international wanted-lists?
Is one thing to want to remain tough-looking to the outside world and thus keeping the constitution, is another if they actually will go after it. Can't even lock a hit-n-run-diplomat who killed innocent pedestrians here, let alone muscling with the underground master minders of organized crimes!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo_Hsing_Han
DeleteExtract:
Lo Hsing Han or Law Sit Han is a former Burmese drug trafficker and present-day major Burmese business tycoon, with financial ties to Singapore.
In June 1992, he founded the Asia World Company, allegedly as a front for his drug operations. His son, Steven Law (aka Tun Myint Naing), married to Cecilia Ng of Singapore in 1996, runs the company which won many multimillion-dollar contracts in the construction and energy sectors.
In February 2008, the US government included Lo, his son, and daughter-in-law, along with the 10 companies they control in Singapore, in its targeted sanctions list of the military junta's business cronies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_World
Extract:
Asia World Group is Myanmar's largest and most diversified conglomerate, with inerests in industrial development, construction, transportation, import-export, and a local supermarket chain.
About half of Singapore's investment in Myanmar (totaling $1.3 billion USD in 2000) comes from Asia World affiliates.
Ten more companies in the group are owned in Singapore, under the name of Cecilia Ng (Ng Sor Hong), Steven Law's wife, who operates an underground banking system to conduct business transactions on behalf of Lo Hsing Han, a convicted drug trafficker.
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So much for going after the drug lords and syndicates. Hang the small fries and do business with the kingpins.
Don't recall in the history of Singapore there were ever a druglord or kingpin caught and sentenced. Most are innocent, poor, powerless victims manipulated to carry out the jobs.
DeleteNever...not once have the caught a major drug lord.
DeleteI am happy with this small step, and welcomed the move.
ReplyDeleteIs ISA next in line to be revised?
if one thing stands out about the govt these days it is that it feels fear. fear to make changes, fear to make substantive changes, fear to take whole new routes, fear of thinking differently.
ReplyDeletethere is also, because of the last vote, fear of not making any changes. there is a need to try and be populist, something it sneers at as well, for no other reason it would seem than because of, again, fear. this time of admitting it is/has been wrong.
so we now have a bit of dipping the toe in the water, and a bit of a tweak here and there.
Fully agree. Teo was looking down most of the time on tv, as if afraid to establish eye contact. Shanmugam also seemed to be extra cautious in parsing his words. Did someone put the fear of God in them?
DeleteWhen will we have a Mandela or a Gorbachev to lead us?
Deletedon't expect any kind of bravery from Teo, Shanmugam who have yet to contest one on one in a SMC. after seeing what happen to G Yeo and company, the 2 buggers know they can easily suffer the same fate and i am inclined to believe they will behave exactly like G Yeo, drop their pants and throw in the towel.
DeleteYes, drugs can still kill you.
ReplyDeleteJust like Casinos, gambling can also ruin you and your family.
Is like a slow cancer in the society.
Now you have to prove your worth (with bank statements) before you can step inside the den.
Bravo Bravo..
Now they say they still need the MDP because drugs can destroy so many lifes.
ReplyDeleteHow come when that ex-NMP's son was caught initially with more than 15g of drugs, they never sounded so upright ?
You must mean Dinesh Singh Bhatia, son of former NMP Kanwaljit Soin and father Amarjeet Singh, a former judicial commissioner and a senior counsel. Caught during the narcotics bust of the 23 member drug syndicate in October 2004, Dinesh's mitigation plea was that he didn't know the white stuff he snorted was ecstacy. Of course he wasn't sent to jail.
Delete//Dinesh's mitigation plea was that he didn't know the white stuff he ""snorted"" was ecstacy. Of course he wasn't sent to jail.//
DeleteSo those 40men involved in underaged girl after "fxxking" the girl can claim in mitigation plea they didn't she was underaged and a prostitute too?!! Same same or different?
Talking about guys looking down when speaking.
ReplyDeleteThey are getting shy la, some say they lost their confidence, what about guy that never look straight(direction/focus)? Just feel that there is a terribly shy guy in the Parliament.
Now, the Cabinet Members seem to be moving around with platoon of fierce looking burly men around them.
It is simply the philosophy,how can a party which does not value its very own people understand the value of human life!
ReplyDeleteYes for no death penalty if you dont trust the judge or justice system being partial towards those who has $ or connections vs the common folks. Just look at the different treatment of traffic offenders.
ReplyDeleteIn Sin, Law is no Justice.
ReplyDeleteFor Justice is not Law.
patriot