Tough on drugs, soft on
drug lords
Singapore's tough stand on drug traffickers is at odds with its
own economic relationship with a Burmese drug lord, according to
Singapore's leading opposition figure, Dr Chee Soon Juan.
Chee Soon Juan … accuses his government of financial links to
Burmese drug lords.
Photo: AP
"If the Government really wanted to eradicate or even minimise
the problem, it would not be in bed with drug barons holed up and
operating freely in Burma," he told a forum in Singapore.
The forum was held to highlight the plight of Nguyen Tuong Van,
the Melbourne man convicted of trafficking heroin who exhausted all
his legal options of appeal when in Singapore's President, S. R.
Nathan, rejected his appeal for clemency.
Nguyen was convicted of trafficking 396 grams of heroin, which
probably came from Burma's golden triangle, and will be hanged
within weeks.
Singapore's Foreign Minister, George Yeo, last week defended the
decision to hang Nguyen, saying "due to the seriousness of the
offence and the need to hold firm our national position against
drug trafficking, we are unable to change our decision".
Burma and Singapore have close economic relations. In Burma when
you use a Visa credit card, the charge is made in Singapore
dollars.
Dr Chee challenged the Government's right to assume the high
moral ground. He cited the Singapore Government Investment
Corporation's 1990s investment in the Myanmar Fund, controlled by
Lo Hsing Han, one of Burma's most notorious drug lords, through his
Asia World Company. Lo's son, Stephen Law, is married to a
Singaporean and lives in Singapore.
The corporation, established in 1981 to manage Singapore's
foreign reserves and with a portfolio of more than $US100 billion
($137 billion), describes itself as one of the world's largest fund
management companies.
"Lo Hsing Han, the entire narcotics world knows, is one of the
biggest drug lords, producing and trafficking in opium, the
precursor to heroin, of which Nguyen Tuong Van has been convicted
of trafficking," Dr Chee said.
The Singapore Government refused to comment on the Myanmar Fund
investment when the connection was first reported in 1997 by SBS;
but when the then prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, was confronted
during a US visit later that year he admitted the government had
quietly liquidated its investment.
"Singapore has hundreds of millions invested in Burma. The
Myanmar Fund was just a very small portion of it," Dr Chee said.
"Where has it gone, to other projects with Lo Hsing Han?" He called
on the Government to state clearly that the Burmese military junta
was not helping or turning a blind eye to drug trafficking.
The forum and vigil held for Nguyen in Singapore on Monday night
was only the second such event ever held in Singapore. It attracted
100 mainly young people who came to listen and did not want to be
quoted for fear of repercussions. They suggested reading blog sites
where they posted their views in relative anonymity.
Dr Chee warned the gathering that police were probably
videotaping the event and said their attendance showed
"Singaporeans are not heartless, they may be voiceless but they do
care about the situation over the death penalty".
