tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539995.post113024168167162144..comments2023-11-05T17:53:13.405+08:00Comments on Singabloodypore: Singapore's deadly slingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539995.post-1130386024049589582005-10-27T12:07:00.000+08:002005-10-27T12:07:00.000+08:00In life anything can happen to anyone at any time....In life anything can happen to anyone at any time. If you believe in fate, as I do, then fate will deal you the cards, and if you happen to be unlucky and get into a sticky situation that results in you suddenly "sitting on death row", many people from certain cultures would stoically accept that as their fate... They are fatalistic by nature and would accept their situation with a certain stoicism. As an analogy, I remember listening to a documentary on the BBC World Service some months ago about so-called "death houses" in India. These are places in the countryside where people who feel that they are ready to meet their maker -- because of some terminal illness -- would go to and wait quietly lying on a bed at peace with themselves, for probably days, before the end arrived. The documentary then juxtaposed that approach against how Westerners, especially Americans, would behave instead: for them, they would desperately seek all forms of modern medicine to cure their illness to forestall the inevitability and prolong their life. Which cultural norm is "correct" here? Who takes it upon him or herself to judge the sanctity of life? Personally, as an Asian, I am not against capital punishment per se, but I think it should be left to the judge -- considering all the evidence and mitigating circumstances, if any -- to decide on whether a convicted person deserved that ultimate sanction. I don't quite like anything which is mandatory. At the same time, the whole issue related to the case of Mr Nguyen is regrettably caught up in larger dynamics. What has been forgotten in all this is that Michael McCrea, a person accused of 2 gruesome murders in Singapore, was finally extradited to Singapore from Australia but on one condition IMPOSED by Australia, that whatever the outcome of his trial, he would not face the death penalty. I rather doubt that many Singaporeans would be thrilled if another case is, so soon after, seemingly settled on terms imposed yet again by that same foreign government. Finally, on how juiciaries operate, take the example of the United States: there have been volumes of studies which concretely prove that if you are a non-White person charged with some crime -- especially a capital offence -- your chances of a fair trial are reduced considerably. Hence the wry joke of African-American motorists whenever they are stopped by police patrol cars: they were caught "Driving while black". This is the mosaic nature of the world we live in. We have to take it for what it is, and not how we would like it to be...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539995.post-1130379480804659032005-10-27T10:18:00.000+08:002005-10-27T10:18:00.000+08:00I think your guys are getting it all wrong here. T...I think your guys are getting it all wrong here. The question is not to let Nguyen get away for his crime but to commute the medieval and barbaric death sentence to a prison term. The answers I have read so far are typical for the brainwashed, docile and submissive average Singaporean, who still haven't got it what human rights are all about. They still haven't grasped the fact that while small "fish" drug runners are sentenced to death, their own government entertains business dealings with those drug cartels these drugs are coming from. What really sucks here is the mockery of the law and the hyprocracy of the judicial system being exercised. I still remember the grassroot leader who poisoned a person and got away with 3 years, while another who embezzled money to nurture his gambling addiction got 42 years. There is something principally very wrong here in this country, where a financial crime is considered more severe than a murder. So don't talk here about your national feelings you don't seem to know about. Just remember: it's easy to condemn another person, but the next time it could be you or a family member sitting on death row.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539995.post-1130324810160712302005-10-26T19:06:00.000+08:002005-10-26T19:06:00.000+08:00Singapore is unique.Singapore is unique.bornappleThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14693867819955110023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539995.post-1130321865317876412005-10-26T18:17:00.000+08:002005-10-26T18:17:00.000+08:00It doesn't make any sense for foreigners to compla...It doesn't make any sense for foreigners to complain, since we singaporeans have never uttered as much as you guys when our fellow citizens broke the law and have to face the punishemnt. If you can't take the law, then go elsewhere. Can't accept such laws so you bring up political ties!? wow... the least you cna do is to pay some respect to the country. What do you think singapore is?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539995.post-1130308463442923942005-10-26T14:34:00.000+08:002005-10-26T14:34:00.000+08:00In the article by Mark Baker, it was said, "Nguyen...In the article by Mark Baker, it was said, "Nguyen and his family were threatened before he left Australia." If this was indeed so, my question is: Was his mother aware that her son was about to embark on this highly risky and illegal venture?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539995.post-1130306784622934432005-10-26T14:06:00.000+08:002005-10-26T14:06:00.000+08:00"Dude, sovereign nations don't demarcate borders f..."Dude, sovereign nations don't demarcate borders for fun, y'know?"<BR/><BR/>Good point.<BR/><BR/>Bush have no right to invade Iraq and Afghanistan.<BR/><BR/>Groups like Amnesty have no right to advocate human rights in countries like Singapore.<BR/><BR/>Capiltalists have no right to hawk their wares in other countries.<BR/><BR/>The United Nations should not make decisions that interfere in other nations.<BR/><BR/>There should be an absolute policy of non-interference. <BR/><BR/>Let the North Koreans starve. Let countries handle their own natural disasters. Let civil wars in Africa go on..<BR/><BR/>The list goes on ..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539995.post-1130277576886763072005-10-26T05:59:00.000+08:002005-10-26T05:59:00.000+08:00Hey if those white Aussies don't give a damn or ca...Hey if those white Aussies don't give a damn or can't even grow some calcium in their backbones, then why should their government, or even a foreign country that's got every right to apply the laws of their land?<BR/><BR/>I bet the majority of them Aussies don't even know about this, didn't bother to, or are likely thinking, <I>"no loss there, just one less immigrant. And he's yellow."</I> So much for pro-human-rights Australia. Bullshit. I mean, just compare the amount of publicities those two white bitches got, caught in Bali, with this guy who's gonna hang soon.<BR/><BR/>Or maybe the Aussies should just clean up their own poppy-infested backyards and educate their own drugheads first, before deriding sovereign countries and their "Middle Ages" laws. I mean if you're at it, why not bitch about your ally, George W. Bush? He's never been one to shy away from death penalties either. Or even your own godamn country! Human rights? BS again! Last I read, Australia had troops participating in the 'liberation of Iraq' too; their very own refugees 'concentration camps' Down Under; and even exiling immigrants. I didn't hear any brouhaha then.<BR/><BR/>Dude, sovereign nations don't demarcate borders for fun, y'know? If you think you can bring the rules and 'principles' of your land, on your Union Jack-assed passport, maybe you also want to hoist the flag, don a colonial wig, crack a whip, swig some beers, and burn down the ship with whatever shit you're smoking, for being ignorant.<BR/><BR/>True. The death penalty sucked. But you never hear Aussies--or any other countries for that matter--complaining much when it's not one of their own getting it. Grow a spine. At least the Singapore government don't expect any less and whine like you lot when one of their own flout the law in a foreign country.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com