VoA - Nigerians React Angrily to Execution of Nigerian in SG

DriftingGuy SG

If an american did it and were to get caught by the Singapore government and if resorts to possible severing of ties, my guess would be this matter wouldnt even be made aware to the general public.

And the american would be pardoned.

the Bear SG

the law can be changed if we, the citizens, demand it..

however, the law cannot be set aside because someone from another country commits a crime?

then what? they come to our country, and commit genital mutilation on their children and they expect to get away with it because it is legal in their own country??

and if one of our citizens go to another country where adultery is punishable with stoning to death, what then?

when you go into a country, OBEY the laws of that country...

LazerLordz SG

Not a bad round of discussion.

At least Singapore is in a position to be strong enough to have her say abroad today.

maurizio13 SG

I am totally against the taking of someone’s life, it’s just not right.

vito_corleone SG

thats why we need more toughnuts like cowboy bush and the republicans Laughing no pussy left-leaning democrats

toll123 SG

whether singapore should scrap the death penalty should be decided by the perople of singapore and foreigners have no rights to say or intervene as we are an independant nation.

fymk SG

They should be out lashing out at drug traffickers and drug lords instead of reacting angrily to Singapore’s methods of handling drug traffickers. Singapore didn’t ask him to come in .

Chelzea SG

cfm this poor sod will be dead Sad but if he was an american citizen,it may be a different story Laughing

Hogzilla SG

Did that chap went through a fair trial? If yes and the judge found him guilty, he should obey Singapore law and face the death sentence. Stop being a bugger and ask for pardon for drug trafficking.

But we are also human ane have a soft side for each other, so as what was done in the Australian case, allow that chap's family members to come to Singapore to bid their last farewell.

SingaporeTyrannosaur SG

I do not like the death penalty, but it is a necessary evil given how much damage drugs have taken. But as someone raised this certiainly needs to be looked into:

Singapore cannot reverse the burden and require a defendant to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he didnt know that he was carrying drugs.

The appeal court rejected the trial courts suggestion that it was irrelevant whether Mr. Tochi had knowledge of what he was carrying but still upheld his conviction, reasoning that under Singapore law such knowledge is presumed until the defendant rebuts that presumption on a balance of probabilities and not merely by raising reasonable doubt.

I mean we are dealing with life and death here, making presumptions "just to be safe" and hang people on it.

One method of smuggling involves using an unsuspecting person to act as the drug mule, typically by slipping some drugs into his luggage and have him carry it risk free (to the real smugglers at least) across customs before picking it up again from him. Such smugglers rely on careless or trusting people to pull this off.

Hanging a person who has no knowledge of if we was really smuggling drugs does little to stop the drug trade... at most the loss to the real traffackers is in the drugs that were discovered. At worst we are hanging a person for being careless or trusting.

The law needs to be tough on drugs, but at the same time the law must also be applied fairly and squarely. Have we sent some people to the gallows who were unwitting victims of the drug trade? Made a double victim by our legal system? Surely more can be done to protect these people.

nismoS132 SG

remember the cocaine ring busted several years ago where all the people busted were high flyers or elites?

they escaped the death penalty because the drugs were sent for filtration and after all 'impurities' were removed, the pure cocaine weighed less than needed for the death penalty. so the guy escaped hanging, and was sentenced to 15 months jail. which was later reduced to 8 months.

several others caught were released on bail, applied for permission to travel overseas to 'attend to personal matters', 'seek medical treatment', blah blah blah, then jumped bail and simply never returned to singapore.

if an american was caught, this is the treatment you can expect.

ShutterBug SG

Another good observation from you....

Have we so far hear or read about an American hanging??

I don't recall.....

vito_corleone SG

either none of them were stupid enough to carry drugs here, have been hanged secretly with the approval of US authorities or sent back to be tried. afterall, a healthy number of US states do impose the death penalty and drugs aren't as widespread a problem in the US as compared to places like amsterdam and australia, where pot is legal and popular. Laughing

fymk SG

All I know is that I known a few americans in Australia and they have to fly thru Singapore.

They keep clean for 4 weeks just in case they get picked for drug testing.

Americans I met are very well versed with the drug laws in Singapore although some think that drug addicts will be hung as well.

nismoS132 SG

but there probably won’t be many american smugglers. south american or mexican maybe.

ShutterBug SG

So what do you guys think, about the probability of someone being hung, because someone planted drugs in his or her luggage??

Is there some kind fo "safety catch" or "safety Lock" like those featured on hand guns, that prevents accidental firing?

I mean, what if one day, someone plants a packet of heroin in your luggage and you get caught?? End of the story just like that??

It would be senseless indeed.... Sad

SingaporeTyrannosaur SG

In fact a perfect murder might be to slip a kilo of drugs into your target's luggage and have him get caught at customs... the courts will be so focused on the drugs and the "balance of probabilities" that they will totally miss out how the drugs got there in the first place... which often is irrelevant to the case.

I seriously hope there are proper checks and balances to prevent this from happening. Confused

LazerLordz SG

Our laws completely miss out the importance of the intent and cause of the drugs' presence, and insteads pins the guilt automatically based on mere presence.

Wrong wrong wrong. I wonder how many people have died or will die in the future from this fallacy.

Kenashi SG

who give a damn about a drug trafficker.\
u broke the law, u pay the price

Kenashi SG

Originally posted by LazerLordz:
UN expert calls on Singapore not to hang Nigerian on drug charges, says breaches rights

1/25/2007 1:24:40 AM - (DPM)

An independent United Nations human rights expert today called on Singapore not to proceed with tomorrows planned hanging of a Nigerian for heroin trafficking, charging that the island states Government has failed to ensure respect for relevant legal safeguards under international standards.

It is a fundamental human right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston said in a statement, noting that the trial judge ruled that although there was no direct evidence that Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi knew the capsules contained heroin ignorance did not exculpate him.

The standard accepted by the international community is that capital punishment may be imposed only when the guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts, Mr. Alston added. [b]Singapore cannot reverse the burden and require a defendant to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he didnt know that he was carrying drugs.

The appeal court rejected the trial courts suggestion that it was irrelevant whether Mr. Tochi had knowledge of what he was carrying but still upheld his conviction, reasoning that under Singapore law such knowledge is presumed until the defendant rebuts that presumption on a balance of probabilities and not merely by raising reasonable doubt.

Mr. Alston also said that Singapore law making the death penalty mandatory for drug trafficking was inconsistent with international human rights standards, because it keeps judges from considering all of the factors relevant to determining whether a death sentence would be permissible in a capital case.

Mr Tochis co-defendant, Okele Nelson Malachy of South Africa, was convicted of having abetted Mr. Tochis offence and was also sentenced to death. There has reportedly been no date set for his execution, but it would raise similar grave human rights issues, Mr. Alston stressed.

One of the tasks given to me by the UN Human Rights Council is to monitor states respect for those safeguards in order to protect the human rights of those facing the death penalty, he said. In the case of Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi, the Government of Singapore has failed to ensure respect for the relevant legal safeguards. Under the circumstances, the execution should not proceed.

Special Rapporteurs are unpaid, independent experts who report to the Council.

http://www.dpm.ae/doc_cont.asp?id=108959

--

IMHO, this is one aspect of our legal system that needs to be changed. It is inherently unfair. [/b]

how to prove clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts?
he just need to say he don't know what he is carrying, can anyone prove that?
ensure respect for the relevant legal safeguards? does he meant UN safeguard? who ever follow UN guideline in the first place Laughing

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