Twins petition to free death row Dad

dragg SG

without death sentence as a detterent there is a possibility that more people will try their luck thus resulting in higher crime rate and more convictions. this is my best guess.

robertteh SG

Let's pick it up...the doggie and give it a hug and it will stop chasing its own tail. Who will do it ? Laughing

LazerLordz SG

If life were that straightforward...it does not come in black or white..it comes in mnay shades of grey..

cornyfish2000 SG

True. For the average drug trafficker, the chance of getting caught is very low and yet the rewards are very high and very lucrative. This is especially so for those who are dead broke.. Say if the punishment is only a 10 year imprisonment term, he might very well decide to risk it, since there's a 99% chance that he will not get caught and he may well get to become a millionaire overnight. After all, even if he were so unlucky as to get caught, he only faces a jail term.

I believe there is nothing like the threat of death to deter people from trafficking drugs.

Without the mandatory death sentence, i'm sure drugs will be much more rampant on the streets here, just like they are in the US and certain European countries (which do not have the death sentence for drug traffickers).

Having said that, i do feel that the mandatory death penalty seems to be out of proportion to the harm brought about by drug trafficking. But well, i suppose there's no simple solution to that.

cornyfish2000 SG

Hmm.. how about making them work in prison, force them to earn their food, lodgings and security?

cornyfish2000 SG

Without the mandatory death sentence, don't you think the rate of drug trafficking will be even higher than what it is now?

cornyfish2000 SG

These fellas deserved to die, no doubt about that.

cornyfish2000 SG

Actually if the reports are to be believed, the circumstances surrounding these high-society "elites" were different.. the mass of drugs trafficked by them was less than the stipulated amount for the death sentence to be passed.

But i do agree that there's something fishy in that these fellas were conveniently found to be trafficking less than the required amount for the death sentence to be warranted. I suspect that it may be more than a coincidence that these fellas happened to be high-society 'elites' as well. Confused

pkchukiss SG

Correct. There exists a deterrent factor for the more knowledgeable spectrum of the society, and less people are willing to take up smuggling as a job.

However, we must also realise that the majority of society are ignorant about this mandatory death sentence, and are often pushed by dire straits towards taking it up. Sentencing people from this group to death has no deterrent effect because they simply would not know at all, and only serves to antagonise the immediate family of the person.

To them, this law might just be as obscure as the legal language that the SAF Act contains, and that means a waste of a human life.

robertteh SG

We are now getting to nearer to an important point of this topic. Should death penalty be applied only to the professional hardcore smugglers and sydicate masters (we should try our very best to crack the sydicate or get to the master) while the unwittingly involved due to sheer financial straits only penalised by life sentence at the most.

The lawmakers should try to review both: (1) Death Sentence for recalcitrants (Non-recalcitrant - reduced to life akin to manslaughter for less than murder)

(2) Review the definition of serious or hard drugs attracting death penalty to exclude less dangerous types based on new research medical evidences.

I look forward to all comments and contributions from all. Laughing

dragg SG

more people taking chances means more arrested means more convicted means more prison required means govt wont agree!! Laughing

dragg SG

i am not so sure about the law but i guess it has something to do with the role of the offender at the time of the offence. e.g. dealer, trafficker, pusher, addict etc

not all will get death. and the type of drugs also come into play.

cornyfish2000 SG

hmmm.. as far as i understand, anyone found to have in his possession more than 15g of heroin or 500g of cannabis will be deemed to be trafficking in that particular drug and will be given the mandatory death sentence.

I think the respective limits are set such that they are far in excess of what a drug addict can possibly consume. Thus anyone with more than the stipulated amount is assumed to be trafficking, with no exceptions allowed.

oxford mushroom SG

The law must be applied fairly to all, regardless of circumstances. I have sympathy for the two boys but I feel the law must run its course.

However, I do agree that there appears to be a hint of leniency given to the 'elite classes' in recent cases. If that is true, it is abhorent. Whether capital punishment for any crime should have a place in a civilized society is a matter for debate but I have the impression that Singaporeans are generally in favour of it. Unless we have a free and open debate (which is not quite possible in Singapore), we can never be sure.

What is lacking, however, is investigation into the social reasons behind drug offences. The government seems to think they have discharged their responsibility by successfully prosecuting a drug pusher and sentencing him to death. But what about preventing the disadvantaged children of the criminal from growing up to become criminals themselves? Will the down and out of society beget their own in a vicious cycle? Perhaps we have focused too much on the elite and have become myopic to those that have fallen by the wayside.

dragg SG

i am one who believes in 'you reap what you sow'.

everywhere in the world, however rich the country, there are crimes and there are exploitations. there are many in need of help. govt come up with different policies to help. but there is only so much any govt can do.

there are people borned with 'disadvantages' but grew up and turn out just fine. people have to take responsibility for what they do.

skyline63 SG

Put them for good meaning to hang them !

Of course it's a perfect idea. If everyone just think lock up. EATING FREE RICE ! COme out another hero. Go and try to commit crime again. A lot of them will be doing that ! Everyday !

I tell you. I will never vote for SDP because they want to put away death sentense. So......... ask DR CHEE go and BYE ! They got less than 10% of the vote. Hahahah!!!!!!!!! Meaning only monkeys vote them !

skyline63 SG

Knowledge. Everyone know it's death to traffic drugs. If they one also don't know ? They must have the brain of a chicken ? Kill chicken not a crime leh. So........ hang him also not a crime loh. SO hang him ! Don't waste time ! Ask him to join the club.

timothytsgsg SG

The pt is tat the expat was only jailed 8 mths for smuggling pot into S'pore and then consuming for pleasure. This poor local Indian smuggle drugs not because for his pleasure but because he has had no choice.

Yes smuggling drugs is bad and always be bad. But we must be smart about it and evaluate one case on a case-by-case basis. I'd feel two things:

1) Make the system equal. if you wanna execute the death penalty, then apply to both locals and expats, ignoring the poor/rich status of that offender. No double standards shd be applied.

2) Evaluate a drug smuggling case on a case-by-case basis and then set a fair sentence once he's found to be gulity. In which case, these 14 yr old teens will still have a father- albeit one that is gonna be in jail for a long time.

Whereas, local and foreign drug smugglers who are found to be smuggling for sheer profit and pleasure will be executed after a free and fair trial where the defendants will have access to their lawyers.

dragg SG

sentencing is up to individual judge. i have no comment on that.

pkchukiss SG

I am grateful that such blatant disregard for human rights isn't rampant in our society. Drug traffickers are human too, and they should be accorded basic rights no matter their crime.

I am not surprised if the majority of the lower segments of the economy are unaware of the mandatory death sentence: their concerns would be making ends meet, not scrutinising the newspapers for articles of any "applicable drug laws".

I say that at the very least, the death penalty should be made [B]non-mandatory[/B] for drug trafficking: the offender's rationale should be as important as their intention. A case by case deliberation would be more humane than the blanket application of the death sentence that we are having now.

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