Nguyen Tuong Van executed
For a number of weeks, the talk of Nguyen has been everywhere. Every where you looked, online, the newspaper, on tv, his name would be mentioned. For those who do not know about this case, Nguyen, 25, from Melbourne, was caught in December 2002, with 396g of heroin strapped to his back in Singapore. More than 15 grams of heroin is punishable by death, according the Singaporian law. Nguyen was en route to Australia from Cambodia, and had a long lay-over in Singapore. He was trying to import these drugs, because his twin brother, a now recovering heroin addict, was 30,000 in debt from legal feels of his own drug related charges. Nguyen has been on deathrow since he was caught in Singapore in 2002.
But as mentioned, the past few weeks, probably at least a month or so, there was a big rise in trying to get clemency for Nguyen. Because Australia doesn’t have the dealth penalty anymore, many people felt that Nguyen’s death sentence was a big too harsh. But in retrospect, there are people who believe this penalty was justice for the crime. Nguyen knew what the laws were when he landed in Singapore, so why would one give him clemency? People also bring into the fact, that he was a drug runner, to import drugs that would potentially “feed” 26,000 hits. Depending on how strong the drug was, it could have cost someone’s life. So to some people, his own life, was to be in exchange for all the potential people who may have died if the drugs had been successfully imported.
Nguyen probably could have made it back Australia without notice if he hadn’t stressed out. When he arrived from Cambodia to Singapore, he had both of the bags of heroin strapped to his back. His back was beginning to ache, so he kept one bag strapped, and had the other bag in his own backpack. He ended up falling asleep in the lounge area of the airport, and woke up and realized he only had 10 minutes left to board the plane. He rushed to the security check area. When he walked through, he beeped. He started to panick a little, and the security officer waved the metal want and nothing beeped. She ended up patting him down, and when she reached his back, that’s when she found the pack. The reason why the metal detector went off, was because of his sunglasses. So, in affect, if he had not freaked out, and just played it cool, more than likely, he might have not gotten caught.
All legal aspects to gain clemency and to stop the exectution from going ahead were exhausted. Yesterday, was the last day that Nguyen was able to see his mother and twin brother. I think, just last week, was the first time Nguyen had seen his twin brother since he was caught in 2002. Usually, under Singaporian law, death row inmates are not allowed to physically touch any visitors. Kim Nguyen (Van Nguyen’s mum) pleaded to be able to give her son a hug before he was to die. She wasn’t able to hug him, but she was able to hold his hand. The last she saw of him, was at 5:00pm Singaporian time.
This morning, 6:00am (9:00am Australian Eastern Summer time) Nguyen was handcuffed, had a white hood put over his head, and was led 2 meters to the gallows..where he then had a noose put around his neck, and the floor below him was removed. His execution was by hanging. Reading all of the editorials, and articles about what goes into the preparation of a hanging, it’s very eerie, and very disturbing. Last night, while I was doing a bunch of stuff, I kept thinking about what time it was in Singapore, and just what would Nguyen be thinking at that very moment. I had a dream, that there was a stay of his excecution for one reason for another. But when I woke up this morning, I asked my partner if she had heard anything and she said “yep, he’s dead…”
I have been watching the news all day today, about Nguyen’s exection, and just been listening to all the sorts of reactions. People wanted a minute of silence at 9:00am this morning, and a church was going to ring the bell 25 times, to commemorate 25 years of this man’s life. But people have backlashed and said “where was the minute of silence when my fallen police officer husband died in the line of duty?” Or even “where was the minute of silence when my daughter was killed by a driver high on drugs?” There are a lot of mixed reactions going on. Even in our own household. My partner and I have had arguments about the death penalty, and this exact case. She doesn’t feel any sympathy and believes that because he knew the consequences, he dug his own grave. She also mentioned how many lives would have been put at risk, if these drugs has been imported successfully. And I came back with the retort of “no one is holding a gun to a drug addict’s head..they have made the conscious choice to start taking these drugs, continuing to take them, and thus becoming addicted to them. So even if the drugs are accessible, no one is forcing them to take them…so is it really a drug mule’s fault?” I can understand where my partner is coming from, but at the same time, I have NO sympathy what so ever for drug addicts who will do anything and everything to pay for their habit.
I don’t condone drug mules, or drug smugglers, but sometimes I wonder how many of them are actually innocent in the whole scheme of things. When you think about it, drug mules are picked, and yes, they make the choice to take the chance to import or export drugs, but at what cost did they say yes? Were they threatened, if the had said no? Did they decide to take the risk, so they could get some easy cash, to pay off debts? What causes someone to decide “yes, I will carry drugs on my body, or in my bag, and hope to hell, I don’t get caught?” These drug mules seem so innocent, in comparison to the people who are actually behind the drug trade. Where are the drug kingpens? The ones who are making a huge profit at the expense of someone else? Where are these drug lords, when someone is caught with drugs in a country where the penalty is death by hanging or even firing squad? They are no where to be found, but yet they get to keep on going, as if nothing happened. I guess though, if you’re a drug lord, all you are worrying about is how much profit you can make off of what ever you’re selling. The blood on their hands means nothing to them.
I feel bad, and am saddened by Nguyen being hung. But when I think of the alternative, I wonder if it’s even better? Granted, dying by hanging at 25 doesn’t seem like a good card to have. But if he had gotten clemency, and wasn’t hung, he would be in a Singaporian prison for the rest of his life. Is that a life that one would want to live? I guess it would be better than being dead, but are they still dead, to some extent? I don’t know how I would be able to live the rest of my life in prison. It seems like such a horrible position to be in. But then again, it might seem like the better alternative.
-current mood-GROUCHY!!
But as mentioned, the past few weeks, probably at least a month or so, there was a big rise in trying to get clemency for Nguyen. Because Australia doesn’t have the dealth penalty anymore, many people felt that Nguyen’s death sentence was a big too harsh. But in retrospect, there are people who believe this penalty was justice for the crime. Nguyen knew what the laws were when he landed in Singapore, so why would one give him clemency? People also bring into the fact, that he was a drug runner, to import drugs that would potentially “feed” 26,000 hits. Depending on how strong the drug was, it could have cost someone’s life. So to some people, his own life, was to be in exchange for all the potential people who may have died if the drugs had been successfully imported.
Nguyen probably could have made it back Australia without notice if he hadn’t stressed out. When he arrived from Cambodia to Singapore, he had both of the bags of heroin strapped to his back. His back was beginning to ache, so he kept one bag strapped, and had the other bag in his own backpack. He ended up falling asleep in the lounge area of the airport, and woke up and realized he only had 10 minutes left to board the plane. He rushed to the security check area. When he walked through, he beeped. He started to panick a little, and the security officer waved the metal want and nothing beeped. She ended up patting him down, and when she reached his back, that’s when she found the pack. The reason why the metal detector went off, was because of his sunglasses. So, in affect, if he had not freaked out, and just played it cool, more than likely, he might have not gotten caught.
All legal aspects to gain clemency and to stop the exectution from going ahead were exhausted. Yesterday, was the last day that Nguyen was able to see his mother and twin brother. I think, just last week, was the first time Nguyen had seen his twin brother since he was caught in 2002. Usually, under Singaporian law, death row inmates are not allowed to physically touch any visitors. Kim Nguyen (Van Nguyen’s mum) pleaded to be able to give her son a hug before he was to die. She wasn’t able to hug him, but she was able to hold his hand. The last she saw of him, was at 5:00pm Singaporian time.
This morning, 6:00am (9:00am Australian Eastern Summer time) Nguyen was handcuffed, had a white hood put over his head, and was led 2 meters to the gallows..where he then had a noose put around his neck, and the floor below him was removed. His execution was by hanging. Reading all of the editorials, and articles about what goes into the preparation of a hanging, it’s very eerie, and very disturbing. Last night, while I was doing a bunch of stuff, I kept thinking about what time it was in Singapore, and just what would Nguyen be thinking at that very moment. I had a dream, that there was a stay of his excecution for one reason for another. But when I woke up this morning, I asked my partner if she had heard anything and she said “yep, he’s dead…”
I have been watching the news all day today, about Nguyen’s exection, and just been listening to all the sorts of reactions. People wanted a minute of silence at 9:00am this morning, and a church was going to ring the bell 25 times, to commemorate 25 years of this man’s life. But people have backlashed and said “where was the minute of silence when my fallen police officer husband died in the line of duty?” Or even “where was the minute of silence when my daughter was killed by a driver high on drugs?” There are a lot of mixed reactions going on. Even in our own household. My partner and I have had arguments about the death penalty, and this exact case. She doesn’t feel any sympathy and believes that because he knew the consequences, he dug his own grave. She also mentioned how many lives would have been put at risk, if these drugs has been imported successfully. And I came back with the retort of “no one is holding a gun to a drug addict’s head..they have made the conscious choice to start taking these drugs, continuing to take them, and thus becoming addicted to them. So even if the drugs are accessible, no one is forcing them to take them…so is it really a drug mule’s fault?” I can understand where my partner is coming from, but at the same time, I have NO sympathy what so ever for drug addicts who will do anything and everything to pay for their habit.
I don’t condone drug mules, or drug smugglers, but sometimes I wonder how many of them are actually innocent in the whole scheme of things. When you think about it, drug mules are picked, and yes, they make the choice to take the chance to import or export drugs, but at what cost did they say yes? Were they threatened, if the had said no? Did they decide to take the risk, so they could get some easy cash, to pay off debts? What causes someone to decide “yes, I will carry drugs on my body, or in my bag, and hope to hell, I don’t get caught?” These drug mules seem so innocent, in comparison to the people who are actually behind the drug trade. Where are the drug kingpens? The ones who are making a huge profit at the expense of someone else? Where are these drug lords, when someone is caught with drugs in a country where the penalty is death by hanging or even firing squad? They are no where to be found, but yet they get to keep on going, as if nothing happened. I guess though, if you’re a drug lord, all you are worrying about is how much profit you can make off of what ever you’re selling. The blood on their hands means nothing to them.
I feel bad, and am saddened by Nguyen being hung. But when I think of the alternative, I wonder if it’s even better? Granted, dying by hanging at 25 doesn’t seem like a good card to have. But if he had gotten clemency, and wasn’t hung, he would be in a Singaporian prison for the rest of his life. Is that a life that one would want to live? I guess it would be better than being dead, but are they still dead, to some extent? I don’t know how I would be able to live the rest of my life in prison
-current mood-GROUCHY!!
posted by Gaylicious© at Friday, December 02, 2005
3 Comments:
Socially, exaggeration is often whimsical. But when a government dramatically inflates numbers to help justify a death sentence, the integrity of both the trial and its governing body becomes questionable. In this case, the government is Singapore, the trial was for Van Tuong Nguyen, and the bloated number is 26,000.
Press from around the world quotes Abdullah Tarmugi, the Speaker of Singapore Parliament, in writing about the potential consequences of Van's actions, "almost 400 grams of pure heroin, enough for more than 26,000 doses."
But how was 26,000 doses (or "hits") derived?
It turns out that what constitutes a hit of heroin is not an easy thing to count. There are dozens of factors to consider; contact your local Needle Exchange for a comprehensive list. However, after collecting statistics from over a dozen sources (including police reports, narcotics web sites, health information, and workers from needle exchanges), the number of hits from a gram of pure heroin averages out to little more than 14.
Van Tuong Nguyen trafficked 396.2 grams of heroin into Singapore. This is approximately 5,600 doses.
The numbers 5,600 and 26,000 are obviously incongruous, as are reports that 400 grams of heroin would "ruin 26,000 lives". In fact, 400 grams of heroin would not come close to ruining even 5,600 lives. Rather, the heroin would most likely supply people already abusing it. With a little more research, we can estimate how many lives would be adversely affected by 400 grams of heroin during one year:
As many as 67, and as few as 6.
Van Tuong Nguyen would not have sent 26,000 people to their deaths from 400 grams of heroin. Nor would the lives of 26,000 people have been ruined. Far more likely is that six people would get a year's worth of hits. And for this he was executed?
Call it dreadful, call it dense, call it incomprehensible ... but do not call it justice.
It is not without reason that LKY insisted that the chinese maintain a numerical majority over the malays and indians because he knew, as it has been for 2000 years, that the chinese are well-trained in turning a blind eye to anything the government does. They don't question evils. They just question how they can negotiate through them - even if this means stepping on everyone else.
The chinese culture trains people into being like the proverbial 3 monkeys. That is why LKY and son brought back the chinese culture in full force, started the chinese elite schools, the speak mandarin campaign, instituted higher chinese, forbade them from substituting other languages for 'their own', allowed a few dedicated chinese channels on tv, allows the chinese to discriminate against all races as and when they please in the job market whilst saying that it is none of their business, saturating the population with china citizens and inviting many of them to become singapore citizens, etc, etc, etc. This way, all potentially influential and 'troublesome' 'races' would be gradually pushed to the underclass or leave the country so that the current emperor Lee Hsien Loong can rule and pass on the reins to the herd to the next and next and next for the next 2000 years.
These things escapes the world's attention while the world is unaware that the basis for such nonsense is chinese culture. Of course, atrocities take place in other non-chinese cultures, but all that shows is that atrocities have a few cultural bases - one of which is the mentioned culture. That is why a Chinese Humanitarian is an oxymoron. Chinese civilisation would not have survived intact and unchanging for 2000 years or so if the emperors had not been successful in instituting a culture of apathy and intellectual and humanitarian docility and myopia. That is why 2000 years later, this poor mate of ours was led to his death while these people just stuffed their faces with fishballs and noodles at their local cafes.
for all you know the goddam PM would say that the people of singapore supports his decisions because they voted for him in the last elections. They are good for that kinda logic because the chinese there are stupid enough to fall for it.
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