Van Thuong Nguyen was hanged today.
When I first knew of this case, I didn't pay very much attention to it, thinking it was another foolish act by another Australian. I only felt for his mother who sacrificed and worked so hard to bring him up.
In the weeks leading up to his execution date, the Australia media bombarded us with so much news of him.
At the end of it, I am still supportive of the death penalty and am disappointed with some very public critical comments by some people who I suspect don't know Singapore very well at all. Some people held the opinion that the death penalty does not lower the rates of drug trafficking. One conclusion that may be drawn from it is that there are still people willing to take the risk. It is difficult to collate statistics whether the penalty does deter or does not. No one is going to publicly say, for statistical purposes, that they initially thought of drug trafficking and then decided not to, cos of the death penalty. What we know is that drug trafficking still exists but the conclusions that can be drawn from there, are many.
Singapore is a very safe place. I can still walk on the streets after a midnight movie and still feel safe. I can't say the same here in Australia. Usually in the cities, the advice is not to go out when it's dark or after 8pm. Tough laws in Singapore keep the streets safe. The same can't be said about Australia when certain rulings made in murder/ rape/ violent cases makes one wonder if life is so cheap. Becos the convicted can only be jailed for a couple of years for murdering someone.
The only issue I have from this case is the ban on physical contact between Nguyen and his family. They were eventually allowed to hold hands. But Shamugan's mother didn't even get that chance. At least, give the family and the convicted person a day or a few days to spend a good part of the day to embrace. They will not be seeing each other for a long time. I think that's the least that can be done. Those on death row should be treated differently than those imprisoned because for the latter, there is an expiry date and a chance to see and hug family members at a future date.
As I sat and watched the evening news, I couldn't help but cry a little. Nguyen sounds like a pretty decent bloke who made one serious mistake that cost him his life. He was only 25 years old.
1 comment:
He knew it is a crime to traffic drugs, How? because his twin brother did it and was paid for his crime so he knew and went into it with both his eyes opened.
To help his debt ridden brother he went into drug trafficing, I think he is a stupid boy. He did not or forget to see a bigger picture how many people or families had to suffer if this drug goes through
We can only pray for the mother and her remaining son.
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