This morning i was wrkin as per normal.... until i came across one particular piece of news. A piece of news that i bet almost the whole of Spore has no inkling to. Or rather, a piece of news that does not seem to warrant any attention watsoever. This was a piece of news regarding one Australian, who was sentenced to death by hanging late last year.


And his name ?


Nguyen Tuong Van (an Australian with Vietnamese origins)


And wat was his crime that warrants the death sentence ?

Drug-trafficking


Remember this piece of news ? Or ever heard of this news before ? Well, i dint, not until this morning....... and that's the power of the MEDIA to you.


U only know wat they want you to know.. and u read wat they want to write, nothing more, nothing less.. cos they decide wats important, and wats not......... (but of cos, the Govt can also be heavily involved in such matters...politics lah.. blah blah blah... so oh well...)


But wat realli is heart-wrenching is that sometimes, it seems that less important issues get more attention than they realli shld, like all the charity shows that seem neverending, and all the other minor issues that seem to make all the headlines today.... and some classic examples ?

We all know abt the infamous Michael Fay issue, the American who was sentenced to.....

Caning (and for wat ? vandalism ?)

and how some Americans heavily criticised Spore for being so harsh and how the ex US president Mr Bill Clinton pleaded for leniency and was amazingly rejected by our Govt.......... (and this happened back in '94, but becos of the power of the Media and how politics was actualli involved, this piece of news remained deeply etched in my little mind..)

And we also know all abt the on-going case of the infamous ex-SIA gal who had an affair with a garang guni man (i know a little gal was killed.. but dont anyone feel that this case got more attention than it realli shld, just BECAUSE it involved a most unbelievable affair ?)

I am sure there are many more classic examples, but as i hardly read the newspapers myself, i will stop at now..


Nonetheless, my point is veri simple............

Does drug-trafficking realli warrant such a harsh punishment ? Yes, i agree that our laws shld be strong and strict, and Yes, we shld punish all wrong-doers... but is this realli necessary ? This guy here (or shld i say young man ?) was a first-time offender... and even though he is absolutely wrong and stupid to traffic drugs, does it realli warrant death ? Doesn't he deserve a 2nd chance ? Can't he even have the chance to repent ?

To me, a rapist deserves death much more than a drug-trafficker, and if even a beast can repent behind bars and later get out as a free man, why cant a man who was forced by circumstances ?

Many people sympathise with his predicament, and if the common people can forgive him and even write in to the Spore Govt seeking for leniency, surely its time our laws seek a 2nd opinion ?

And lets face it, by executing this man here DOESNT solve the root of the problem...

1. Will the real mastermind be punished ? No.

2. Will the mastermind get away scot-free ? HELL YES!

3. Will dat stop other naive people whom, tempted by greed and greed ONLY, from attempting to traffic drugs ? Obviously NO, cos the masterminds are still out there seeking for new scapegoats

Thought for Food : When Iraq invaded Kuwait back in the late nineties, whom do we blame ? The Iraqi Army who do the actual killing ? or do we blame Saddam Hussein ? Think abt it..

And all this while this 25yr old man is still squatting in Changi Prison.... waiting ever since he was caught in Dec 2002 ... till the day his time is finally up............. which will be any Friday morning soon...


For more details, below is one good link that i found...

http://singabloodypore.blogspot.com/2005/02/remember-nguyen-tuong-van.html







P.S : Er, if there are any law agencies reading this.. actualli i am 100% pro Sporean and loyal to the country... thus these are just my own views with no intention to harm or discriminate. They are written with full respect for the laws of the Govt and hopefully they are acceptable for public view.. Yes / No ??? if not, pls just warn me.... dun sue me pls....

I DONT WANNA GET CANED!!!!!

Latest news : Its been confirmed......... Nguyen Tuong Van will be hang.... on Dec 2nd... God Bless him.........