Singapore sacks its hangman
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Singapore sacks its hangman
By CLARE MASTERS in Singapore
November 27, 2005
SINGAPORE has sacked its long-serving hangman on the eve of the execution of Australian drug courier Van Tuong Nguyen.
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A new executioner is expected to be flown into Singapore this week – possibly from Malaysia – to carry out Nguyen's death sentence as scheduled on Friday, despite pleas for mercy from Australia.
The 25-year-old from Melbourne will become the first prisoner in Singapore in 46 years not to be sent to his death by Darshan Singh. The 74-year-old grandfather was dumped after his identity and picture was revealed by The Australian newspaper.
Mr Singh said he was in big trouble and was out of a job.
"It has been very, very difficult for me," he told The Sunday Telegraph. "I am not the hangman any more."
Mr Singh said he would miss the $400 fee for each execution but was relieved he would not be placing the noose around Nguyen's neck. "In a way, I am happy," he said.
The hangman's sacking comes as a series of heartbreaking letters from the condemned drug courier reveal his deep regret for his crime and an understanding that he must pay with his life.
"I truly believe God put me here for a reason," he wrote from death row, after Singapore rejected his clemency bid.
"And now that his plans for me have almost been achieved, he is preparing for me little baby angels to play with when I return."
He also explains his deep sorrow for those whose lives have been ruined by drugs.
"I found myself in deep sorrow for the true victims – the families of those who suffer as a result of losing a loved one to drugs," he wrote. "This has put many things into perspective for me."
He believes his weaknesses have cost him his life and said he blames only himself: "I accept responsibility for my actions."
What hurts him, he said, was the pain of losing his mother.
Australia's Catholic bishops yesterday wrote to Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, urging him to reconsider clemency for the condemned man.
Nguyen was caught with 396.2g of heroin at Singapore's Changi Airport in December, 2002 while in transit from Cambodia to Sydney. He claimed he was trying to pay off his heroin-addicted twin brother's legal debts.
Nguyen's mother Kim and brother Khoa have been in Singapore for a week visiting Nguyen at Changi each day until yesterday, when the prison was closed.
Singapore human rights lawyer M. Ravi has led the local campaign to save the Australian because it was the final wish of his previous death row client.
Thirty-eight-year-old Shanmugam Murugesu, who became Nguyen's best friend and confidante in jail, was executed in May for bringing 1kg of marijuana into the country.
"When I saw Shanmugam on his last day he said to me, 'Let my death not be in vain – please help this young man next to me'," Mr Ravi said.
It was his last wish that on his birthday, eight days before Nguyen's execution date, his family hold a vigil to pray for the condemned. They fulfilled it last week. "We are not just fighting for my father," Murugesu's 15-year-old son Gopal said.
"We are fighting for everyone."
Gopal and his twin brother Krishnan now work alongside Mr Ravi with their grandmother Madame Letchumi Ammah as the only family of a condemned prisoner to speak out publicly against the Government. It is a battle largely waged in secret as the lobbyists dodge the Government's strict laws. Of the 10 activists who formed the Singapore Anti Death Penalty Committee (SADPC), nine will not divulge their identity.
"But we are slowly making a difference," said one activist.
"Van has made an impact. He has struck a chord. But this will be a long and slow fight." -
Sacked just because someone managed to get his picture?
The Singapore Government is sure fast sia. -
Looks like they can't get anyone from the Prisons Service to do the job, only a FT.Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Sacked just because someone managed to get his picture?
The Singapore Government is sure fast sia.
We won't be seeing this in CNA or ST anyway.It's damn obvious what is published and what isn't.So much for a balanced and objective press. -
the law should be respected..you are aware of the consequences be prepared for it..
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i think it's for the chap's own good also ....
with his picture posted all over the place ... there may be backlash directed at him after the deed is done .... and i don't think it's a good idea for him to become a macabre celebrity of sort ... whether he's a poster boy for proponents or opponents of the death penalty ....
it's a good move i think ....
(or perhaps .... they'll just say he's not the one doing it ... for his sake ... but i think it's unlikely that they can find another chappie at such a short notice .... maybe he'll wear a hood and still do it anyways ... nyguyen isn't going to tell is he ... ) -
I think the FT will not last long. There has been some questions about using lethal injections on the criminals who have been given the penalty.Originally posted by LazerLordz:Looks like they can't get anyone from the Prisons Service to do the job, only a FT.
We won't be seeing this in CNA or ST anyway.It's damn obvious what is published and what isn't.So much for a balanced and objective press. -
Yeah.Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:I think the FT will not last long. There has been some questions about using lethal injections on the criminals who have been given the penalty.