Sorry I’m not in the mood to blog, nor to entertain.
The past few days have been quite depressing for me. Not from the heavy workload I’ve been receiving, but from hearing the news about people around my age who passed away too young, and all for the wrong reasons.
First, was 28-year-old ‘La Idler’ Sondra a quiet but witty blogger from Singapore whom I met briefly at the Blogger.SG Convention. I used to read Idle Days occasionally and she’d leave comments on my blog too.
She, with a great future ahead of her, was about to migrate to the UK next year to be with boyfriend.
When I wrote about my long distance relationship, this is what she said to me.
“Hey Kenny, yeah I know what it’s like to be in a long-distance relationship as I am in one and it’s just terrible! What’s more you know that both of you have commitments and it’s hard to break them to be together. Anyway, I hope that you will be able to resolve this with Nicole, just [as] I hope to resolve this with my other half. To us!”
Sondra passed away this past Wednesday due to a form of blood disorder.
When I learnt of her news, I was guest-blogging for Cowboy Caleb, who at that time was posted overseas for a writing assignment. I knew he was worried sick about Sondra, and I knew he’s been trying to get in touch with her every day since last October to no avail.
Mr Brown called me while driving on his way to the wake. From his voice I could only hear anguish and despair. My thoughts shifted to Cowboy Caleb, who’ve only just returned to Singapore yesterday morning. When he touched down he finally got the long-awaited SMS reply from Sondra’s phone, by her sister, only to inform him that she’s forever gone.
I could only imagine the amount of shock and pain they’re going through.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Van Tuong Nguyen, 25 years old, arrested and executed for drug-trafficking.
Executed not because he was a hardcore criminal. Executed not because he was a bad person. Executed because he was helping his brother Khoa to get out of debt.
Why was Khoa in debt?
Because Khoa lost himself to drugs. He lost himself to gambling. He lost himself to meaningless gangfights, and landed himself in an expensive legal battle after he disfigured a rival gang member and left him paralysed from waist down.
No. Don’t do drugs. Don’t deal with drugs. Don’t have anything even remotely to do with drugs. If you’re not the one paying the price, your loved ones just might.
“Amidst these score of painful revelations an unspoken truth was exposed. I found myself in deep sorrow for the true victims; the families of those whom suffer as a result of losing a loved one to drugs.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Khairul Anuar Salim, 18 years old, slashed with a sickle, but killed not by the attackers who confronted him.
Khairul was killed by this private hospital who blatantly refused to give him treatment even during an emergency.
“They wanted me to pay a deposit of RM5,000, saying his injuries were serious. I was not carrying so much money on me at that time,” [Sallehuddean, Khairul’s uncle] said. “They did not want to admit him until I paid the deposit, not even when I pointed out that this was an emergency.”
Sallehuddean said he pleaded with the hospital staff but they would not budge… a doctor came out an hour later and told the family that Khairul could not be saved.
He claimed the hospital did not want to release his body until the bill was settled.”
(More here. Source here and here)
Next time you get slashed in this country, remember to have RM5,000 lying around in your pocket.
Thank you Lainey, for the yummilicious chocolate cake. Thank you addict, for the cute video package. Thank you YC, for the wallpaper you made.
Unexpected birthday gifts always come saccharine sweet.
My deepest condolences to her family n loved ones. May she rest in peace.
this is a fucked up world. I’m glad you posted your views on these issues dude…
may God bless the souls of those who didn’t deserve to die.
OMG. What a fucked up world. Well, I was JUST thinking about dying till I read your latest post. Damn.
yes, i always agree that its depressing to know news of people departing away, especially those which you know personally.
for van nguyen’s case, its also sad, cause for the love of his brother, he subjected himself to execution by the singapore government…
australia is not taking it very well…. and it might affect singaporeans..but..oh well… life still goes on..
Whole story of Van Nguyen: http://seven.com.au/news/topstories/125914
yes as “obi.meowz” said, australia isn’t taking it well. He didn’t deserve to die. His brother now lives with a huge burden, knowing that van died because of him.
The case about Khairul makes me think twice about going back to Malaysia..what has our country come into?
As a Chinese American, I often think that there is a great deal of injustice going on in the USA. However, it is at times like this I realize that greed, violence, and out of control politicians are problems that we all face, no matter what country we live in.
khairul’s case is disgusting. whatever happened to the ethnics of a doctor? being compassionate and LOGICAL?
my condolences to all the departed one..
What kind of hospital is it??? Cruel
my condolences.
your heading “they are too young to die” and the highlight of case #2 Nguyen implies that it was wrong for the Singaporean Government to kill him, a thread picked up by your commenters.
although i believe from reading your post, you had quite well referred to DRUGS having killed him, for trafficing it, for his brother to be in trouble because of it
and we all know by now, it’s because of his brother that Nguyen’s involved in the trafficing
i hope you will steer stray commenters in future
but a nice post 🙂
My condolences to Sondra’s family. I know what it’s like to lose a loved one. My 16 year old cousin died of acute leukaemia less than a month ago.
well..we will never know what will happen tomorrow, appreciate what you have now, and remember get yourself insured, so you wont worried about deposit or even the high medical bill!
My condolences.
i can’t believe they just stood by and let Khairul die. surely saving a person’s life is worth more than 5k? i suppose they’ll carry this burden for the rest of their lives. i was always under the impression that in emergencies they’d at least stabilize you first and THEN talk money. Guess not.
Malaysia……What a county is this? how come my living county got this kind of cool blood hospital? how come got the stupid ppl was say: if you think malaysia not save, you came go back to your own country? how come got the ppl making a mistake but still try to cover it and blame to other ppl? i was shame about their are doing!
OMG! Are you kidding me? Is it even ethical to do that kinda thing? I’ve never heard of things like that! Poor Khairul. Makes me wonder whether I wanna go home really, considering I might just be at the other end of it. Turning people away! WTF?!?
i pity all of them. but i guess they won’t be here again to see this evil world.
and scary, everytime i see that van tuong nguyen body, i see his chest move up and down, like really breathing like that. i wonder if he would haunt the Singapore Government?
but i think he deserved it. i mean, that 400g drug would get tens of thousands of people drugged. and Khairul, go haunt the hospital.
Semoga tuhan memberkati mereka yang telah pergi.
Thanks Kenny, for this post. makes me cherish what i have and a reminder of what needs to be done for God while i still live.
Love and Respect for the passing.
Malaysia has always been like this (and so have other countries) but most Malaysian have not been exposed to all these before hence they now look at our country as though it’s not a country they would want to live in (no thanks to corruption and cover ups). With the current transparency policy going on thanks to our dear PM, you ppl should prepare yourselves for more issues to be revealed. To me, Malaysia is even safer now than before because no one can harm you and cover their own arses anymore.
So ppl, make sure you own a credit card with at least RM5000 credit limit to it. If you haven’t got one yet, go let those cc sales ppl ambush you in the mall.
I think Van Tuong Nguyen knew the punishments for drug trafficking thru Singapore is illegal whether the drugs were meant to be brought to Singapore or transit thru Singapore.
I wunt say he deserves to die but he knew the punishments for the crime prior to committing them.
Anyway, some of the Australians esp the opposition are merely making a big fuss out of it to gain attention and put down their opponents. Unethical in my opinion.
i agree with u kenny.
Serve Nguyen right.
He helped his brother clear his debts over legal fees coz of DRUGS too..
The whole family deal with drugs…
What do u expect?
The 400g he brought in is enough for 26000 doses.
DO u know how how how many lives will be destroyed? WHy try Singapore when u can try USA?
Anyway, Australia is a land for Criminals..
he DID NOT bring the drugs into Singapore for ur info. He was in transit and was heading to Australia.
Whats ur definition of in Transit? Isnt the airport Singapore?? Does in Transit means he did not bring any drugs into Singapore?
i guess he didn’t intend to bring the drugs out of the airport.
Anon.. Where r going to draw a line between in transit and not in transit. Hand for not in Transit and No Hang for in transit? How do u ever know whether that drug is intended to be in transit? and He might as well send by post or courier if he wants to send something on transit.
Last night, I went drinking with my colleagues…the night ended this morning with the death of two colleagues due to car accident. The two of them had such lovely girlfriends and great future but their lives ended this morning.
Reading ur blog makes me sadder that life is so short.
The cocain drug bust a while back in Singapore involved several high society ppl who got away solely because they were powers that be or related to them. Both are different cases but imagine this, if our Prime Minister’s son was caught for drug trafficking what would happen to him? Should a father’s power stop a hanging when a mother’s love cannot?
If your child or sibling or friend makes a mistake as stupid as Van’s what would you do? Let him die just because he it was an error of choice? Khoa did something terrible and he will live to regret it for the rest of his life. But Van, he did it solely out of love for his family. He feared for the lives of his mother and brother, and in doing so gave himself up for them.
He should not be condemned as a criminal, because he saw the error of his ways, knew what he did was wrong and repented. When can we learn to forgive? Michelle Leslie was pardoned because, the judges said, she was young and had a good future ahead of her and that she had learnt from her mistake (we’ll take that at face value; whatever furor she’s in now in oz is a different matter)
Btw, 26000 people is a farce and too gross an exaggeration – which is what you’d expect from a government who has made up its mind on the death penalty –
Hits per gram
The cocain drug bust a while back in Singapore involved several high society ppl who got away solely because they were powers that be or related to them. Both are different cases but imagine this, if our Prime Minister’s son was caught for drug trafficking what would happen to him? Should a father’s power stop a hanging when a mother’s love cannot?
If your child or sibling or friend makes a mistake as stupid as Van’s what would you do? Let him die just because he it was an error of choice? Khoa did something terrible and he will live to regret it for the rest of his life. But Van, he did it solely out of love for his family. He feared for the lives of his mother and brother, and in doing so gave himself up for them.
He should not be condemned as a criminal, because he saw the error of his ways, knew what he did was wrong and repented. When can we learn to forgive? Michelle Leslie was pardoned because, the judges said, she was young and had a good future ahead of her and that she had learnt from her mistake (we’ll take that at face value; whatever furor she’s in now in oz is a different matter)
Btw, 26000 people is a farce and too gross an exaggeration – which is what you’d expect from a government who has made up its mind on the death penalty –
Hits per gram
baboon-guy, your comments are disgustingly shallow and immature. I transit between Malaysia, Singapore and Australia frequently and have found Australia to be the most gracious country by far.
Criminal? I’m malaysian but that won’t stop me from calling the Khairul case a criminal one. My friend had an accident in Melbourne and we rushed to the hospital. The people attended to use immediately in the most gentle and patient way possible – what you would expect from a good hospital. I’m not trying to argue the case of Oz, but you know, get a life and start seeing the world from the top instead.
May they rest in peace forever…
My deepest condelences to Sondra’s family and everyone who knew her well.
Btw, Khairul’s case could’ve be taken to high court…
It’s so depressing.
There’s so many things not right with the world and there’s only so much we, the common people, can do to make it better.
Sigh.
this post is depressing.
you know, i’m with the side of the government in th Ngyen case. if someone peddles dope, they do deserve to be hanged, regardless of reason and excuses. “ooh, my doing it for my brother, he’s paralyzed”… big deal. honestly, gimme a break. every other drug smuggler can claim that. bad family la, abusive father la.. please la, gimme a break.
you smuggle dope, you deserve to die.
i’m glad they hanged him, to be honest. sends a message to the rest of em.
and i can’t for the life of me understand why he hell you people are complaining.
Mugilan.J
The Nguyen case sounds a little like the musical Chicago (without the cheery jazzy humour, of course) – ultimately that was about how the media glamourises criminals and makes its audiences (or readers, whateveryoucallit) sympathise with them (so that they can get out). The difference is, in the movie we think the people of Chicago are idiots.
And it can’t be said enough – what kind of f-ing hospital is that? Damn Malaysians, so si ban until …
the kid deserve to die. everyone knows if you bring drugs to singapore and got caught. you die. end of story. only stupid people would bring drug thru singapore or malaysia, don’t they know that we carry mandatory death on it ? Damn stupid, want to help brother also dunno how to help. He was executed because he was carrying drug not because he tried to save his brother. that is what rules are meant for, to be enforced, not to be compassionate. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.
About the hospital case, what can i say, malaysian is like that, see tou pu chai. Malaysian public has not power over the government, everything must comes from the government then it will be implemented into the public.
It’s not only the private hospitals, even the govt types are the same. I remembered recently even with a my GP’s doctor’s letter, the hospital people had the cheek to tell me to go home as they was a 30 people waiting list & the doctor is too busy to see other patients despite us being at the emergency ward. I was like in great pain & they told me my case wasn’t bad as there was another guy who had the same symptoms as me & they still didn’t know what to do with him, he wasn’t even referred after a 2 weeks wait! The horrors!
The service all I can say, it sucks …
P.S: Hope you’ve received the belated birthday card by now! Cheers!
– Jacky ~_~ –
truly depressing … especially on Khairul’s case. May God bless those dearly departed
I am more angry with the murderers of Khairul than the actions of the private clinic.
Quotes from Malay Mail:
“Khairul Anuar chided the duo who left the scene, only to confront him later. Khairul Anuar was stabbed with a sharp object and collapsed.”
…
“A youth who allegedly stabbed and killed 17-year-old Khairul Anuar Salim behaved nonchalantly, just minutes after the crime.
Following the incident behind a petrol station in Taman Muda last Saturday, the suspect walked coolly into its convenience store at 8.51pm, and bought a pack of cigarettes.”
Its clear that the attackers are emotionally unstable and have no conscience whatsoever. People like this are not afraid of things they don’t see or experience directly. Rather than telling them their actions are wrong, I say bring back public execution to instill fear in people on consequences of doing extreme crimes.
Hey Dude, another touching blogger story I followed this year…http://thongdavid.blogspot.com/
The hospital’s license should be revoked. They didnt only neglect the first-hand medical attention towards a dying patient, they are also fourth-degree murderers for letting the patient die without further treatment. Malaysia is like that. Money is more important than lives. The government should just deprive the hospital off their license.
May Sondra rest in peace. I know how painful it is to lost someone u love and a great future actually awaiting ahead for both of u. Sondra has the same dream as I did but at the end it had never been fulfilled. Too close yet too far. And it’s all death that shattered all the dreams. -_- However life still goes on, i’m sure those that left us would hope that we will be able to live well.
which convicted drug trafficker has no sad story to tell? who traffick drungs for interest? all do it for the money.. and everyone have their own reasons..
>>
Above is one of the Core Value of the hospital listed in its website’s Mission Statement. It is just hollow metal, the hospital showed no compassion in the actual case and should be avoided, let them pay for it.
I do not entirely agree with your statement:
Khairul Anuar Salim, 18 years old, slashed with a sickle, but killed not by the attackers who confronted him.
These moderfarkers contribute largely to his death. Why divert the hatred to the hospital alone? I seriously think both the moderfackers and the hospital should be punished severely especially the moderfackers.
While for Van Tuong Nguyen, I sympathise his situation, but when he did something wrong, he will be punished. That is the rule. He took the chances and he was caught. End of story.
…Compassion – Sensitive to the needs of others and to care with kindness and empathy….
Above is one of the Core Value of the hospital listed in its website’s Mission Statement. It is just hollow metal, the hospital showed no compassion in the actual case and should be avoided, let them pay for it.
For the Annuar case:
The hospital in Pantai Cheras. Apparently they gave him some first aid but refused to operate on him until they recieve some kind of financial guarantee. When they finally started the surgery, it was too late.
Their motto is “Service from the Heart” Check it out, they appreciate your suggestions
http://www.pantai.com.my/site.cfm
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident – its just given more media attention because he went to school with Najib’s (Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia) child in Garden International. Not that it is okay in any way, but Malaysia does not exactly have the best human rights record – detainees without political connections get bashed up and sometimes killed every now and then.
For Van’s case:
Personally, I find a mandatory death sentence for drug trafficing unjust. Maybe for the ringleaders – but penalizing the drug mule does not crack the drug ring, but instead ends a human life. Who is the Government to dictate life and death. Please.
Many people who lead a sheltered life would not understand the desperation that drives people to traffic drugs. (Some, not all are driven by greed) So unless you have genuinely spent time and lived with all strata of society, kindly refrain from preaching.
You’re wrong. Nguyen was not executed because he wanted to help his brother, but because even though he knew full well the desperation drugs causes, he thought his brother’s suffering justifies causing the exact same kind of suffering to many other families.
Drugs cause desperation. If you’ve been a victim of it, don’t propagate it.
Sure, its convinient to preach. What is far more interesting though, is to understand the human element.
Put yourself in his shoes.
If your twin brother was heavily in debt and was being hunted down by the druglords, what would you do?
In desperation, he agreed to be a drug mule. He could not back out as the druglords would come after him and his family.
Is the choice right? Probably not, but in the heat of the moment, if it was between his family and him – I can understand his choice.
While drug abuse is a huge problem, I do not believe that drug addiction is equitable to a mandatory execution. Most recreational drug users do it out of choice, and yes some do succumb the addiction – but not all.
You can say that tis world is unfair. Let me tell you guys out there about this tragedy that happened in my apartment in Sydney.
” X was a guy that came to Sydney to pursue his degree and masters in one of the universities in Sydney. X time in Sydney was a hectic and tiring period where he has to shift between multiple part-time jobs and attend university. This might be due to the lack of financial support from X family. X vowed to take a long rest back in his home country after he finished what he set out to do in Sydney that is graduated with a master in xxxxx. This is because during his short period stay in Sydney he has been working non-stop. X was due to be back the very next day when a fire broke out in his room in the early hours. X was pronounce dead upon arrival in the hospital.”
The story is true and I swear that I told the truth. This incident really got me thinking that we have to cherish every second of our life and not do somethingf that will cause grive to our loved ones. Think twice. Life is unfair but what can we do?
All these incidents just hits home how fragile life is!
I read Sondra blog a number of times before, and it was indeed shocking to find out that she had passed on. God bless her, and may her family find comfort through this difficult time.
As for Van Nyugen, my deepest sympathies goes to him and his family. May his soul rest in peace!
Well said fruitopia, The right decision isn’t always the best decision. When it comes to situations like these, the heart will make the call, not the head.. can’t blame the guy. Deepest condolences.
One good entry, Kenny. Full of emotions and sadness. And reality!
when i was 9, i had a friend who accidentally shut himself in his parent’s car boot. he suffocated and was almost dead when his parents finally found him there. they rushed him to pantai cheras hospital only to have him die there because the doctors would not admit him unless they pay 5k too.
when ever is passing away at 25 due to the right reasons?
sigh.
RIP.
This entry shows that how life will take on an unexpected turn. At times, things might be smooth going but you will never know that fate will take on a horrible twist and there will be no turning back as time cannot go backward, it only can move forward. Therefore, cherish life and do not take things for granted…
To Nguyen, may your soul rest in peace
You have shown a brotherly love that is so great that it touches so many hearts..
Another stark reminder that we have to take the time out to
smell the roses…
nurtue our souls…..
this is really sad…
for they have gone to a place where the roses never fade..may their souls rest in peace..
khairul’s case is a real sad wan. come to think of it, aren’t doctors supposed to save a life without thinking of payment first? what has the world come to? sad to know that he might be alive today if not for a few greedy imbeciles in the hospital. you can be sure I for one will be boycotting that particular hospital since i stay in KL. service from the heart indeed! hope the killers in the hospital know what they just did! human life is more precious than any RM that they may bring in, no matter how much!
No one dies under any circumstances or in a disaster who is not prepared to die. There is always some conscious recognition, however, though the individual may play tricks with himself and pretend it is not there. Even animals sense their dying ahead of time and on that level man or woman is no different.
Many more human beings are aware of their impending deaths than is generally known. It seems, perhaps, easier to have no conscious idea of the year or time that death might occur. Unconsciously of course each man and woman knows, and yet hides the knowledge. In the entire fabric of your existence, this life is a brilliant, eternally unique and precious portion, but only a portion, from which you emerge with joy and understanding whether you die tomorrow or in years to come. The choice of life and death is always yours and will dictate the way you die , as well as the time.
There is always a reason. To realize that each soul is making these decisions is a beautiful, healing and freeing experience.
The knowledge is usually hidden for many reasons, but the fact of death, personal death, is never forgotten. It seems obvious, but the full enjoyment of life would be impossible in the framework, now, of earthly reality without the knowledge of death.
Spiritually the death sentence given you is another chance at life, if you are freely able to accept life with all of its conditions and to feel its full dimensions, for that alone will rejuvenate your spiritual and physical self. Death, however, does not exist in those terms. In the dawn of physical existence, men knew that death was merely a change of form.
The YOU that you consider yourself to be are NEVER annihilated. Your consciousness is NOT snuffed out, nor is it swallowed. You are expanding your psychic structure and becoming what your soul is.
And for the young who died under such conditions may hold the strong belief that old age represents a degradation of the spirit and an insult to the body. Slow death in a hospital or an experience with an illness would be unthinkable to these same people. Some of this has to do with temperament, and with quite normal individual differences and preferences.
Life and death are but two faces of your eternal, ever changing existence, however. Feel and appreciate the joy of ‘ your own being. Many live into their nineties without ever appreciating to that extent the beauty of their being.
You have lived before, and will again, and your new life, in your terms, springs out of the old, and is growing in the old and contained within it as the seed is already contained within the flower
I think we shld respect the deads rather than continuous condemning their actions. no doubt it is higly unadvisable to traffic in drugs but they are dead isnt it?
Why condemn them with the continuous insults like ‘stupid’ etc?
Sometimes, I really hate the world. It sucks.
Nguyen might as well rob a bank in melbourne if he dun wana get caught in singapore and get hang. Serve him right. WHy drugs? Go rob a bank..probably u can earn more and less ppl will suffer from your acts. And if u got shot by Australian police while robbing. RIP… Too bad.. thats a stupid thinking kind of person alike Jude
Not Light
The last couple of days have been really dark, and I’d like to think that I’m talking about the electric company (motto: “We Power the Nation, When We Feel Like It Ha Ha”), but I’m not. I’m reading sad, heart-wrench…
hey anon coward, i hope your sibling or best friend, or maybe even you won’t do anything stupid and get caught. And if you do, i hope you get punished without mercy and grace and in the harshest way possible. Actually, no, i just want to wish you well.
As for me, i believe justice and mercy can go hand in hand. Buddha, Allah, Jesus and all other sensible faiths have taught about mercy and perhaps they are the only reason why this world is still sane after all these while.
….I have started reading your blog after a friend introduced it to me. He is an ardent fan of yours. After reading what you have written, it compelled me to comment on this topic. I was so disgusted after reading the news about Khairul. I am in the medical profession and somehow I am so let-down by the health system in this country. I was so afraid that M’sia’s private hospitals are turning into the dreaded American health system where money and insurance is the way into getting medical treatment! What’s so frustrating is that more than half of M’sian cannot do not even have health insurance. Are we just going to let these people die…..what happened to Hippocratic Oath?…..feel so ashamed with the medical health professionals espcially those in the private sectors………
Something better be done about this…….
those who refused to give treatment to khairul just because his uncle couldnt get that RM5000 are INHUMAN BASTARDS. Same goes to those a$$h0l3 who attacked him, ALL of them deserve to be eaten by 29ft anaconda in one glup. Pantai hospital is really a cut throat hopsital. They charge RM100+ for blood check up. bloody hell. Cannot even use Hong Leong Assurance (HLA) card for medical treatment at that hospital as students like me dont carry that much money.
May they rest in pease
My deepest condolonces to all..
May their souls rest in peace..
Cherish life..
I’d said before, I’ll say it again…for these hospitals to change their policy that was there ALL THIS WHILE is more death caused of such incident. ‘IMPORTANT’ life are preferable such as the beloveds of VIPs in this countries or beloved of VIPs of other countries. Call me a sicko but that’s I think is the only way.
Why want to focus on the killer?
Killer: kills
hospital: FUCKING TRY THEIR BEST TO SAVES LIFE!
And in this case the hospital kills over some RM5000.00. I heard hiring an assasins cost RM3000.00…See! You can’t go to private hospital… they are way too expensive already…
Sigh.. 🙁
My condolences.
Fruitopia, you must understand that the government can’t put itself in only ONE person’s shoes. Why not put yourself in the shoes of the drug addicts’ parents? If your son were a drug addict, how much can you sympathise with the one who sold him drugs?
Maybe you think the transporter isn’t that guilty, how about the drug pusher who targets teenagers and gives the first dose free to get his customers hooked? Maybe his kin is also in debt and so he is beyond reproach?
Kenny dear, I’m sorry the only thing I can give you is an online hug. *hugs*.
life’s a brief candle. RIP to all mentioned above.
and i thought doctors are supposed to help people. what a bad publicity for them.
i dont think anyone has the right to play god. it is depressing enough for all the wrongs to go around in the world. why r we not saving, but ending the lives of others??
i simply dont understand.. what makes some hv the right to play god and set the rules, and what makes those pple have the right to take away lives? they have taken away the lives of nguyen and khairul.. does it mean, they have to repay with theirs?
.. and sondra .. may peace and love surround you wherever you are.
about the nguyen hanging…
did he deserve to die?
he was a young fellow, probably really brash and fearless when he did what he did in 2002… he was 22 then.. but he should have known the consequences, ie, smuggling heroin strapped onto his body (audacious to say the least, stupid if you’re crude), and anticipating a transit stop at SINGAPORE (with the toughest laws on drugs)..
he knew what he was doing. it’s like a soldier who chooses to walk through a field littered with landmines. if he’s lucky he may cross it alive. But more often than not, he’s a dead man. But he has decided to roll the dice.
stepping on a landmine, he will be injured/dead for sure, and should have no qualms about it.
arguably speaking, you might relate this analogy with nguyen’s act of drug trafficking in light of the tough laws of Singapore against drugs. the laws are there. the ‘landmines’ are there. do you want to risk your life? nguyen took a gun, spun the barrel, and pointed it to his head. it was a risk he very well knew, and took, albeit immaturely.
whether capital punishment is justified is a different matter altogether.
Having said all that, the view here is that for such an offense which isn’t murder, i think there definitely is room for repent and rehabilitation cosidering his young age when he did what he did.
a jail term would probably be more justified, as it allows time for him to think in solitude and to evaluate what he has done wrong. time does heal people and makes people better if lessons are learnt.
if he didnt kill anyone, i think death is a very very harsh penalty. and the young guy definitely doesn’t seem like a ‘bad’ guy.
therefore from a strictly black and white, legal, mechanical perspective, he pretty much dug his own grave.
from a human, compassionate perspective. should he have hung? NO…
he should have been given another chance in life. im sure he would have grasped it wholeheartedly…
at the end of the day, Singapore meant business, and they have always been very ‘efficient’, ‘rigid’ and ‘mechanical’ in more ways than one.
OMG!!!
Khairul’s case is real fucked up man!!!
When I clicked on the hospital link you posted, I wasn’t surprised anymore.
My relative passed away there not because of sickness, but because she went into a coma directly due to the NEGLIGENCE of the nurses there!!!
Guys, that is one FUCKED UP hospital! KID YOU NOT!
when i was 9, i had a friend who accidentally shut himself in his parent’s car boot. he suffocated and was almost dead when his parents finally found him there. they rushed him to pantai cheras hospital only to have him die there because the doctors would not admit him unless they pay 5k too.
Posted by: haze at December 3, 2005 06:03 PM
Pantai Cheras the culprit again! How many more deaths do they wanna cause???
Thanks, cY.
“me” said:
“If your son were a drug addict, how much can you sympathise with the one who sold him drugs?”
I would still think that it does not deserve a mandatory death sentence. While having a mandatory sentence can be a deterrent, it takes away the ability for the judge/jury to exercise their discretion on a case-by-case basis.
“How about the drug pusher who targets teenagers and gives the first dose free to get his customers hooked?”
Like I said, it depends on the circumstances – I believe Van Nguyen’s case is not as severe as say, if he were to run a drug cartel. Also note that the individual chose to do drugs, and even if (s)he did, it does automatically mean they will get hooked on it. Granted, some people invariably do, but I know many people who have cleaned themselves up, either through willpower or rehab.
Human life is precious – it should only be taken in the most extreme circumstances, and only when there is NO OTHER VIABLE alternative.
Oops, sorry made a typo there. Should have read:
Also note that the individual chose to do drugs, and even if (s)he did, it does *not* automatically mean they will get hooked on it.
Hey. So if I’m helping someone when I peddle drugs, I’m not a bad person? Isn’t that comment abit shallow?
opps..realise i read the blog wrongly..sorry..
people have taken away the sense of love and what we have left is injustice, cruelty in the world..read lindatrinh.com such young lovely people die too soon…RIP to all the deceased..rest in heaven
I was just thinking abt death/other morbid themes this wkend too – attended a colleague’s grandmother’s wake on friday & recalled memories of my own late granny who left us in Mar this year.
btw, does anyone know if withholding details of khoa’s earlier convictions is a common and accepted practice in law ? I know they said it wasnt disclosed earlier lest it jeopardised his brother’s clemency pleas…
I’m sorry if i offend anyone by saying this in this very depressing atmosphere, but did any of you people catch what Aussie PM John Howard said to the public so that they wont take drugs using the Nguyen case as an example?
“…I hope the strongest message that comes out of this, above everything else, is a message to the young of Australia. Don’t have anything to do with drugs. Don’t use them, don’t touch them, don’t carry them, don’t traffic in them and don’t imagine for a moment — for a moment — that you can risk carrying drugs anywhere in Asia without suffering the most severe consequences.”
Don’t carry them anywhere in Asia… that’s something hillarious
that was a very touching, yet heart-breaking entry.
To BaBooN-GuY and all the rest that said Van Nguyen deserves to die. Just remember that no one deserves to Die. The death sentence is barbaric. Nothing positive can be achieved from death.
I can’t believe the hospital actually refused to treat Khairul unless he paid up. Isn’t a doctor supposed to save lives? They’re just leaving him to die. I don’t see the difference between killing him and leaving him to die when you can help.
Apparently, if you’re not filthy rich with thousand dollar notes as pocket change, your death won’t make a difference.
Dear Kenny,
What is name of the hospital that “killed” Khairul. It is said to learn of such things even in the 21 century.
Dear Kenny,
What is name of the hospital that “killed” Khairul. It is said to learn of such things even in the 21 century.
As to astrogirl, let me ask you a question, what have you learn from Nguyen’s case. To hate singapore goverment for Hanging a drug trafficer, or not to bring drugs to other country. you learn something about everything, and by hanging, it will stop everyone from drug trafficking into another country. Do you really want your child or someone close to you to be behind bars or being hang for drug trafficking?? you learn from past.. something positive is achieve.
Look at Khoa’s story, he was convicted for drug trafficking before and yet he is still a troublemaker. Therefore, I agree with the move of capital punishment done by Singapore.
Van’s story is sad, but what if things happened other wise? How many lives would that 400g of drug destroy in turn? First its the addicts, then ppl who became victims to the addicts because its a known fact that desperation for drug money usually leads them to do crimes, needless to say the relatives of these victims would be affected as well. Its like a neverending ripple in the ocean that never cease.
The law is there to protect the interests of the public, it is for the greater good. As a matter of fact, I personally think capital punishments should not be critised and there should be more of it. Like snatch thieves thats leads to death of victims and rape(no excuse for this one) cases for example.
One thing for sure though, death sentences should only be done after backed by concrete proof that the suspect really is the guilty party.
van nguyen was excuted not because he wanted to get his brother out of debt, but because he is stupid. there are other legal ways to pay off debts, and it was his own personal choice to agree to smuggle the drugs.
why should we pity someone who made the choice to do something so stupid?
Capital Punishment… you’re a smart alec innit? If drug trafficking deserves the death penalty, so should stealing, abusing dogs and abusing children.
Obviously people will learn from the offender’s mistakes so that they won’t steal, abuse their pets or abuse their children anymore.
That said, anything negative will affect everyone negatively. I’m not saying stealing, abusing dogs and abusing children deserves heavier penalties. I’m saying the death penalty is too harsh and should only be carried out to major offenders such as terrorists etc.
There are 9 (Australians) in Bali currently in trial imposed with the death penalty. Nguyen’s death did nothing to change their actions (since he was convicted 3 yrs ago). its not about pitying someone who made a stupid mistake. Its about killing someone who made a bad mistake. Thou Shalt Not Kill.
To set things straight, Van Nguyen claimed that he was trafficking to pay of his brother’s debts. That was not a proven fact. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree that he deserved the death penalty and I’m glad he’s in a happier place now. Just that emotions tend to distort facts.
Even so, even if what he claimed was true, I don’t think for a moment we should judge his choice to raise money in such a way as ‘stupid’. We will never know the desperation he faced and who knows, if put in such a situation some of us might have done the same.
On Van Nguyen’s case, it’s sad all right. But look at this, all these years, Singapore is REALLY sending out the message to people not to carry drugs. Just because he CLAIMED that he had to help his brother doesn’t mean he’ll get away with it.
Why? Because if he’s pardoned. The next time, you can get another 5 Aussies probably in the next 10 years, all giving out the same excuse of family in debt blah blah.
Now would people still take the no drug or death penalty thing SERIOUSLY? NO, they’d all say, if Van Nguyen got away with so much drugs and is pardoned, WHT CAN’T WE???
He did it for the love of his brother (whom I seriously think should be the one that’s dead), but for a country, to look at the big picture. You can’t help it.
For the record, not all Aussies are against his death penalty, last I saw on the news, 37% actually agreed. Why? Because they knew that it could affect so many more Australians, and for some, their loved ones lives got into the wrong turn due to drugs.
Hello? Would Australia actually like to have unlimited supply of drugs can kill the whole younger/older population off????
Cry all you want, but from my perspective. I wish it could be done the other way, but the consequences would be far more serious later on.
Die Ngyuen die die die..and shall be ur followers too.. Ur shall die condemned instead of treated as a movie start or George Best. U do not deserve more attention than what those who die from cancer because they have no money for operation. U shall not be pardoned and given life sentence for u can save Singaporeans 10.35 Sing Dollars a day for your three meals in Prison. Gahmen better money to fund kidney dialysis. Anyway, I told ya. U should rob a bank in Melbourne and get shot by the police there. Believe me, Australians will also support u if the police shoot u ACCIDENTALLY coz u helped ur brother..and rob with ur bro too..dun suffer alone.
let me put things in perspective. The Nguyen family would have been spared a lot of grief if Australia has a tough stance on drug traffickers and addicts. Australia does not have a death penalty for drugs, so drugs were available in oz and sold to Khoa. Some say that capital punishment isn’t a good deterrent, but that doesn’t mean it has zero deterrent effect.
Sentencing terrorists to death, on the other hand, appears to have little deterrence value, since they already want to die. Most murderers, whom no one seems to want to glorify, also kill in the heat of the moment, and are unlikely to kill again. Hanging them is more like for revenge and punishment. So for those who don’t plan on rooting for terrorists on death trial, please figure out exactly what you believe in before slamming Singapore. You don’t have to physically kill a person to have blood on your hands. Trafficking drugs, even if it is to raise money for your brother, is as sinful as personally murdering someone.
So Mike, are you saying that Drug Trafficking are not major offenders. They should be categorise as normal offenders where sentences should go for like 20 years or so. Do you actually know what drugs willl do to your society. how it will affect a countries. how many youngster will die because of all this drugs and how many families are destroyed. Weight it, think about it, look into the mirror and ask yourself the question that you ask me. i’m not trying to be a smart alec, but i think you are.
sad to hear. god bless them and rest in peace… glad u posted this, kenny
firstly, doctors are supposed to save lives,not MONEY.For the sake of money,the hospital was willing to MURDER?A hero was dead for doing a good deed.I cant accpet this,man.Van Tuong Nguyen was excecuted for helping his brother. The purpose of a judge in court is to justify between right and wrong, black or white. For the sake of law written on a piece of paper,no mercy or exception was shown.Indeed,life is unfair and this is why we are here:to make a difference.We have empathy and feelings.May this be a great reminder to us to always be willing to lend a helping hand as well as to be selfless in order to make the world a bettr home.
The doctor should be stripped of his licence. To practice such hard-hearted “PAY UP OR DIE” poilcies in a hospital just makes him seem like one who’s wasted 6 years of medical education. It’s a hospital for GOD’s sake… not a cash and carry super market. The doctor needs to be publicly shamed. His name shall serve as a reminder to all, that the role of a doctor is to serve and treat. Not to capitalise on a patient’s plight with such stupid cruel and fatal rules.
this is so sad …
where have their ethics gone to.
Yes of course Nguyen knows what he’s doing.
If someone held my family hostage and threatened to kill them if I didn’t bring him 400g of heroin, I think I would know what to do as well.
After 400 hangings in less than 10 years you’d expect people to stop bringing in drugs. Is the death penalty working? no. people are still bringing in drugs. the death penalty doesn’t deter crime. look, khoa was a drug addict and the drug dealers threatened his family because he couldn’t pay. if you want to blame anyone, blame the dealers. they prey on helpless people like nguyen. the IRA did it with civilians as means to finance their organisation and the same thing is happening here.
If anyone should be punished its the drug lords. they don’t give a *beep* about poor folks like shanmugam and nguyen. As long as there are poor people desperate to survive, as long as there are people like nguyen driven to desperation by the mistakes of his loved ones, there will be drugs moving in, out and around the country. Damn, this world sucks.
so Capital Punishment, you’re saying that people dont deserve to be forgiven for their mistakes and should die just like that. Because I’m saying everyone deserves a second chance.
As for the power of drugs… it should depend on the taken drug. Drugs such as cocain and marijuana is mildly recreational and is easy to get out of addiction.
Sadly, people like yourself believe wrong doers dont deserve second chances.
Your post is poignant and I have mixed feelings about your opinions expressed here. Nevertheless, its a sad reminder that life goes on irregardless of the misfortunes and tragedies that happen daily.
everyone deserves a second chance. nguyen’s history is as common as yours and mine. he made a mistake out of desperation. mercy and grace mann, mercy and grace.
how saddening.
look at those innocent people.
especially the 18 year old ISKL kid.
sigh..
what has Malaysia and the world itself is turning to?
sigh.
but you made me wonder how every blogger
we know, who’d someday die.
since i myself have a number of blogs,
public and private.
i wonder how people will respond to my death.
Condolences to your friend’s family and loved ones, and those other who passed away.
May God Bless Their Soul.Amin.
I live 2 doors away from khairul. and it was sad for all of us. 100’s turned up for the wake.
it was worse for his parents. his sister jus got married. and his parents left soon after to another country for work. imagine coming home to attend your sons funeral.
my mother and i were both wondering why they didnt bring him along. but they said, he was happy here so he decided to stay instead of follow his parents.
what can i say?
its devastating.
To Capital Punishment, You better hope that you yourself or no one close to you makes the same stupid mistake Van did. Because you don’t believe in second chances. No one points a gun at a drug user and forces them to take drugs. Its their own choice. Sadly, when there is a demand – there will always be a supply.
Death is not a solution. I’m an Australian, but I don’t hate the singapore govt. I just believe that no crime justifies Death. You don’t just kill someone because they have done wrong. Capital Punishment has been around for too long. And the law should evolve – we are in the 21st century !
Death just causes grief – no matter how and why it happens.
May their souls rest in peace…. T_T
To Mike and astrogirl, i do believe in second chances. i myself need second chance sometimes as well. But dont you think that his case is a bit funny when you try to put bits and pieces together.
First. Why does he need to smuggle so much drugs into singapore.
second. after 3 years, if the brother were to take a loan from a loan shark. do you think he will still be stand there now.
Third. In the first place, if the loan comes from a bank. worse case would just be bankruptcy. why need to smuggle drugs.
Sympathy are being misuse over here. that is why i strongly support singapore’s action against him.
Astrogirl, so what if we are in the 21st century, everyone needs rules in their life. every country has their own rules. From your statement, it sounds like you are saying that we are living in the 21st century, so we dont need goverment to control us and we dont need rules in this world!
yes you are right about “when theres demand, theres supply”. that applies to everything. which means that u support him smuggling drugs into another country because there are drug addicts around. have you actually think about the consequences if the drugs were to get to ur body or so. would you want it to happen??
As to Mike, 90 percent of the drug addicts goes back to taking drugs after coming out from rehabilitation. So what makes you think that drugs like cocain and marijuana is not harmfull to the society.
i live in australia.
i think it’s just the media that’s farting around, the way they portray chapelle corby (bali, still in jail), michelle leslie (bali, released, but suspected bribing), and van nguyen (singapore, executed).
after all this van nguyen extravaganza is done and over with, the media started revealing the fact that van nguyen used to have a court case where he was involved in gang fights where he injured someone from the rival gang with samurai sword and the person is now paralyzed waist down. australian media is a joke, i bet they’re laughing when they see australians obediently follow whatever the media throws at them.
it’s also funny seeing how many australians are becoming hypocrites. btw, this claim is also said by a university professor in australia, the fact that many australians are becoming hypocrites.
many aussies, (just like astrogir1 who commented above), said that “death is not a solution”, “you don’t kill someone just because they have done wrong”. yuck, full of hypocricy.
remember when bali terrorists were in trials, australians screamed “they deserve the death penalty”.
sure, one might say drug is different than bomb. but is it true that “you don’t kill someone just because they have done wrong” ???
having said that, these shits are only 1% of life. i still love 99% of australia :).
Having a twin brother myself, the Van case made a special impression on me. From a principal point of view I’m against all capital punishment for the very simple reason that it cannot be undone. On the other hand I come from Norway and have seen how Oslo has gradually turned into one of the Heroin capitals of Europe. Addicts are begging in the streets and parks are full of used needles. Personally I don’t mind Marihuana and some of the other harder drugs used in moderation, but Heroin is really evil.
Hot debate about capital punishment here. Dear Kenny, I have just started reading your website. Humourous sometimes.
It has been a depressing weekend for me. Personally, I do not know Van. My old best friend who had migrated to Australia used to go out with him. She used to tell me how sweet he was. He took care of her too.
I am not saying what he did was right. It is not right at all to traffic drugs, no matter what amount. Capital punishment is one way to stop drugs from entering into the country.
People like Van or Shanmugan (the guy who was hanged before Van), they may or may not know that the punishment was to die by hanging.
As for Van, I doubt that he know that Singapore’s punishment for such crime is by hanging. If you read the story that leads to his death, you will know how immature he was at that time. It was a desperate attempt to get more money.
Do you know how he was detected? He was on transit to Singapore from Cambodia to Australia. It was a 1 hour transit. The drugs were strapped to his abdomen. He found it too tightly strapped and went to the toilet to take out some and put it into his hand luggage. He was tired and decided to take a nap. When he woke up, he found that it was already last call and he rushed into the customs. His handphone had set the alarm of the detector and that was when he was body searched and the rest was history.
If you ask me, yes he did a really stupid mistake. But does he deserve to die? Different people with different opinion.
I truly believe that God has given us life and no one else except God can take it away.
I feel terribly sorry for his mother.
Anyone can say what they like. If you have a friend/relative who is on deathrow, then you will know how it feels like.
Van’s death has changed some lives for sure. Some are working towards abolishment of capital punishment.
My deepest heartfelt condolences to the family members of those who died.
Kenny, great post, keep up the good work.
i was to understand, the hospital in this case, the Pantai medical centre cheras was not owned by malaysian, it’s foreigned own – Singapore.Anyway, any inhumane hospitals should get their license revoke.
You break my heart.
To people who lives outside Malaysia n Singapore pls tell your mothers/fathers/brothers/sisters/friends/relatives – DONT BRING DRUGS TO MALAYSIA OR SINGAPORE. Transit or not transits, to help settle brother’s debt or for whatever reason- the law dont give the damn.You know the consequences.
well. about khoa. i’m not very well informed about it cause i’m not too lazy to read it but drug trafficking is still an offence regardless of whether u did it to save a life or etc. so someone stabs/kills my bf(touch wood), i don;’t exactly go stab/kill someone in return right? there are so many things in life which is unfair. family in poverty and pembolotan duit/corruption and shit. we’re stuck here and we’ve just to look at it in a different perspective. heck, of course if my bf kena stab i’ll be downright pissed and well want to kill that f*cker who did that. drug trafficking might not seem as such a big deal but when u look at it as a whole picture, it is. think about it. *note, nothing against khoa cause i don’t know him personally. he might be a great person but hey, alot of great people die due to dengghi, aids, snatch thieves, and what not. so there +)
I have scoliosis, a problem which affects the backbone. Hence, my backbone is not straight, and I experience pain sometimes when doing straining activities. When I was at my secondary 3 camp in Kota Tinggi, Malaysia, I got sent to a hospital because my problem was kicking up again. They refused to do an X-ray for me. I wonder if it was because they saw that I was Singaporean from my Identification Card.
Hi Kenny, sorry for turning your blog into another heated debate on the Death Penalty… 😛
But there are other people still on the death row. And I will continue to sign and write as many letters as required to support calls for clemency… This is my choice.
And to Melb, No.. I didn’t vote for the bali bomber to be sentenced to death. I would rather he be jailed for life with no chance of parole. Nothing can be achieved from killing him. Has the ‘War on Terror’ not taught us anything ?
An eye for an eye makes the world go blind.
that was a touching entry..:( Sorry to hear about your friend.
And about the other two cases…. … … 🙁
for ppl who think that death sentence on Nguyen’s case is right. All I can said is that, you haven’t seen far enough yet. Until the day you realized your wrong judgement, it will be too late, an innocent man has been killed. “Thou shall not kill”
goldfinger, you appear to be a moron. The general sentiment in Singapore is that “we really didn’t want to have to go do that, but we HAVE to do it, because of the fact that we’re a transit point for many flight routes”. The aim of hanging is not punishment, but deterrence. To sit by and allow Changi to be a transit point for drugs would be the “wrong judgment” you talk about.
All this nonsense about not taking one life, even if it means saving a hundred lives. If you see a man about to detonate a bomb because someone is threatening his family, and this bomb will kill hundreds, should you spare his life, because he has special circumstances?
I really don’t see where blaming Singapore comes in. Why don’t people blame the Aussie drug culture and lax attitudes towards offenders? That’s really the root of the problem. I don’t see how pardoning every drug pusher would decrease the amount of suffering in the world due to drugs.
Singapore did give him a fair trial, he was hanged years from the time he was charged, was he not? And we painstakingly explained ourselves to a country in which immigrants like Nguyen apparently die in droves. Singaporeans do respect lives,each and every single one, except that we’re taking the viewpoint of people like Khoa, who are victims of drug abuse.
And if you want to help REAL innocent people, who have yet to fall into vice, go help the poor Asian immigrants to Aus. Don’t let them be targeted by drug pushers.
It is really a toss of the coin between being emotional and being rational.
A lot of people would say that Nguyen don’t deserve the penalty because life is supposed to be full of compassion. Some might even say that only God has the right to end a person’s life but not other human beings. It sounds really sensible to say that the poor boy is just doing it out of love for his family.
But being on a rational side, he is trafficking drugs and lots of them and he knows that it is a death sentence in Singapore. Like they say in Mandarin, its like walking into a cave full of starving tigers. Unless medically approved, drugs will always be harmful to other lives. I am glad that while I am still living in Singapore I do not have any of my loved ones bearing the consequences of suffering from drug addiction.
Ok, this is my first comment on this popular website. Usually I do not do so. But on the chirpy side, Kenny you are so gorgeous. Keep writing.:P
“me”, did I said drug trafficking shouldn’t be stopped? It should be stopped, but will hanging them, solve the problems? Is there no other way but hanging? This case and terrorist case is totally different. And, don’t make another “wrong judgement” on ppl as a moron with your short sighted view.
Perhaps by reading another version of Khairul’s tragedy, we can understand the issue better..
“He said Khairul was immediately wheeled to the back of the registration counter into the ED resuscitation bay. “The medical officer, Dr T. Shan, and a surgeon, were already there as they had been waiting for another case. So, Khairul was attended to immediately as his condition was deemed to be of a more urgent nature,” he said.”
http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/2005/12/are_we_too_quic.html#comments
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Monday/Frontpage/20051205100429/Article/index_html
it is a tragedy indeed.. but dont let our emotion and ignorant rule our judgement
Perhaps by reading another version of Khairul’s tragedy, we can understand the issue better..
“He said Khairul was immediately wheeled to the back of the registration counter into the ED resuscitation bay. “The medical officer, Dr T. Shan, and a surgeon, were already there as they had been waiting for another case. So, Khairul was attended to immediately as his condition was deemed to be of a more urgent nature,” he said.”
http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/2005/12/are_we_too_quic.html#comments
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Monday/Frontpage/20051205100429/Article/index_html
it is a tragedy indeed.. but dont let our emotion and ignorance rule our judgement
As to answer g0ldf1n93r question.
Human are scare of death. Many of us are.
1. will hanging them, solve the problems? Is there no other way but hanging?
Answer. No, who will learn when there are no such harsh penalties on such activities. Most human are scare of death, thats why they dont smuggle drugs into another country. If you were to jail them for life. what makes you think that after 10 to 20 years, he or she will not be release because of good behaviour and repeat the same criminal again.
2. This case and terrorist case is totally different.
Answer. What is the different between terrorist and drug smuggler. Drug smugglers kill people as well. Isnt it a bit contradicting.
3. From previous post. you mention “Thou shall not kill”
Answer. Yes, everyone agrees to that, its stated in every religions. and i think you apply it in the wrong manner. You only apply it to the government, have you actually apply it to the drug smugglers?? Do you think that those drugs are not harmfull and will not kill ppl?? so does it still apply to Nguyen and the singapore government??
What Miss Piggy say is true, he does it for the family but when it comes to court, they have no mercy on you. But the government is also doing it for the countries good. Without those harsh punishment, do u think that singapore and other country will be so well developed?? i know you might say that country like australia does, but because of country like singapore, thats why people are aware of drugs and try not to get involve. some of us view things from what we see but there are things that we cant see from the outside.
I sympathise khairul but not nguyen.
Khairul’s case was due to greed and negligence of a hospital.
nguyen was executed for smuggling drugs.
Brother in debt? gimme a break! how many of us have debt problems? i know i do! f*ck, get a job, get 2 jobs. i too would love the easy money.
i completely agree with the Sg govt. You break the law , be prepared to face consequences of yr actions. He knew what he was doing. He knew the consequences of it. You come to another country, be prepared to live with their laws. His sad brother in debt story is meaningless. What? brother in debt means the law bends for him? if the law states that drug trafficking is illegal, then its illegal. Sick mother, debt ridden bro, widow aunty… all r meaningless excuse for someone to try to make the quick buck illegally.
PS- no one complained when africans were executed.
appreciate life, live it with love and with your best
g0ldf1n93r… U are a pathetic fool who dun know how to balance the doctrine of sanctity of life.. Let me give u a basic jurisprudential argument.. Let say I held ur whole family on a tickling bomb and the only way to stop me is to kill me.. What would u do? Kill me? Coz if u dun..i will kill ur family.. Hehe…
What if u have a conjoined twin sharing the liver and heart, both will die unless one is scarificed. As what all the fools here talked about only god can take lives..Would u let both die or kill one and save the other. Go search the internet. Case name: Re A Then review ur shallow knowledge and minds..
Personally, if u say only god can take one’s live, then I feel god took Nguyens life coz he is dead and only god can take his life.Hehe.. If God wants him to live, he would have saved him. Hehe. Isnt it good for Nguyen to go to Heaven with God?
Or Hell? I duuno.. u judge… Might go to Hell as a drug trafficker..or heaven since a lot of priests prayed for him..I duuno..only god knows..but preferably.. I think he should go to hell. End of story..
I am a Singaporean and I had been in the helping profession for 6 years. I had witnessed how drugs destroyed lives and supposedly blissful families. Thus, I appreciate my country’s stand on it’s tough law on drugs issues.
I do not understand, what exactly went through Van’s mind when he finally decided on taking the gigantic risk of losing his life when he agree to traffick drugs through Singapore. Did he blindly believe that he could get away from it all, or he had resigned himself to fate and is prepared to offer his life for his crime? And did it ever came across his mind, that the amount of drugs he carried, would cost the lives of how many addicts…and wreck how many families? Or all these does not matter to him, as long as his family is saved?
Some Australians condemned the Singapore Govt’s actions of being barbaric.
I do not understand what they are thinking about. Do they expect us to listen to the mitigation factors and let the guy off after spanking his palm? (Like what they had written on their papers “Return the poor guy to his mother”)
So it is humane to let traffickers off, encouraging the drug syndicate to recruit more youngsters with sad stories to traffick drugs for them… anyway they will be let off the hook because their background?
So it is humane, for the drugs to be transported from one country to another, continuing to ruin lives and wreck families?
So it is humane, for the press to hound the Vietnamese’s guy’s family, trapping them at Changi Prison, snapping their cameras with irritating flash while they were grieving for a loved one whom they are about to lose forever?
I don’t understand and I don’t think I ever will.
All I see…is a group of irrational people talking about taking Singapore to international court in order to have the sentence reverse. So to them, a crime is not a crime, as long as you have good reasons for committing it?
All I see… is this same group of people and those who sympathise with them, to hold wakes on the eve of the guy’s executive, pointing fingers at the Singapore government and missing the whole point of the tragedy. It is drugs and lawlessness we are against, not anything else.
All I see…when all is gone, the family was not allowed to grieve properly, and the press going after them like a pack of hungry wolves, snapping up every single display of emotions, and splashing them across the papers, coupled with words that could arouse the emotions from even the most hard hearted person.
All I can see, is that I live in a world full of contradictions, inconsistencies, double standards and distorted values.
I pray that the family would have peace and be allowed to live in peace.
And I hope that the brother of Van Tuong Nguyen would know that his brother gave his life, so that he can learn to live properly, and that he would not live a single day of his life in vain, lest he let his brother down.
Well for Nguyen, he knows the drill. Deal with drugs that much and face the death sentence. All very clear and he still chose to take the gamble. Just too bad he got caught. One may give all kinds of excuses why he should not die, but the reality is if his drugs go through, many more will die horrible deaths.
What is even more disturbing than the fact that a convicted drug carrier is vaunted like a hero in Australia and being utilised as a political tool by giving him a minute’s silence in the Parliament (which by the way is COMPLETELY ridiculous); is the fact that certain Australians are using this to commit hate crimes against Singaporeans in Aust. from what I’ve heard, they think Malaysians and Singaporeans are the same. SO, instead of using his death as a lesson to all about the consequences of drugs, they use it as an excuse to propangade their own issues.
R.I.P Khairul-
How could anyone of u possibly believe in the media?? The people who knew him will never say that he’s a bad person to the press. The press will not even publish it. They publish news to make money. That’s why they played up all the hype to create symphathy for Van Nguyen. What they didn’t know is that from their selfish attitudes, the media destroyed his only chance – clemency.
Van nguyen might be a good person, or a bad person. Those who knew him might say he is a good guy but i believe he’s just a desperate, young, arrogant and ignorant guy. He tried to smuggle drugs and he says he was doing this to help pay off his brother’s debt. Nice story, but there are many other ways to earn money other than drug smuggling. This was his biggest mistake. He didn’t care wat might happen to him. He didn’t think bout his close ones and his family. He didn’t think about the victims of drugs.
The Australian government didn’t put pressure on Singapore until the media hype came. Until then it was too late, the sentence was already passed and appeals turned down. The media played the hype even more. Critizing Singapore’s policy, the public wrote to condemn Singapore. The government was pressured. Then they try pressuring Singapore then. By that time, the whole world knew bout it. A nation would never back down on it’s policy and law publicly. That’s why they never gave clemency to Van Nguyen. Who was wrong in this case? Partly Van Nguyen’s lawyers, who uses the media as the alst resort. Partly the government as they reacted only in the last minute. If they had given pressure from day One and without publicity, Singapore just might let him go or grant him clemency. Partly the Media, they played up the hype too much, causing Singapore not to bend their rules. Honour and Integrity are very important to the chinese and they will never wan to lose face, that’s why singapore was strict. The Singapore government was not wrong, it’s the law and they must uphold it.
Why Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and few other countries have this death penalty for drug smugglers? South East Asian countries are the centres for drug smuggling. They use South-East Asian countries to try to smuggle drugs worldwide. That is why we need strict laws. Babaric? Maybe. Justified? Yes.
This might be too heavy for just drug smuggling some of u might say and having the death penalty will not stop ppl smuggling drugs as some of thought so. If this is the case, why are laws?? This shows how ignorant some ppl are. Having prison and jail penalties will never stop thieves, robbers, murderers from acting, it will not bring the death back to life. Then why should we have it? To control the society u dumbheads, without strict laws the society will go down.
U think freedom is good? It’s too much freedom that is causing moral ills. The capitalist system is causing ppl to be selfish. Too much freedom will one day pull over society back to the dark ages. That’s why our society needs control, it needs laws that are strict. Having the laws will never stop the real criminals from acting, but it will stop many of us from commiting crimes. It will let criminals who were caught get what they deserve. I believe in democracy, human rights and freedom but too much freedom is no good for mankind.
“He’s so young”, “He’s just trying to help his brother”, “As a mother I symphatize with his mother…” etc.
The law is the law. No matter what u do or why u do it, u still broke the law. Everyone is equal before the law, it doesn’t matter whether u’re a president’s son, A mother, A father and even a president u’re still the same in front of the law. The court can be symphatetic with u and reduce ur sentence etc. In Van Nguyen’s case. It’s Mandatory. There’s no other choice.
“Capital punishment shows how babaric/backwards Singapore is”, “Death Penalty is an infringement to Human Rights”, “We oppose death penalties, Singapore must be pressured in to releasing Van nguyen(suggestions might be nationwide boycott to singapore, refusing to grant singapore airlines the lucrative pacific route etc”
This shows half of the australian ppl pratice double standards.
Tell that to USA. They have the Death Penalty too. Yet they are one of the most democratic countries in the world and one that respects human rights the most. If all u say is true. Yes, USA is a backward country too.
Refusing SIA routes? Boycotting Singapore?? Singapore must release Van Nguyen. This shows australians are so naive that they believe they are so special. They believe they are like the police in the SEA region. They are the kings. They have the say over everything. The can interfere with another countire’s law. Come on Aussies. Come on. Don’t ever try to potray ur country as unreasonable and a bully.
I believe that while the Death Penalty might be a little too harsh for a person like Van Nguyen. But the law is the law. End of story.
I just read that Van Nguyen was originally charged with carrying around 800g of Heroin. Double of wat he’s being charged now(but the penalty is still the same, so maybe the singapore court tried to make him “look better” on the media).
if that is really the case, den the drugs can be used for 52,000 shots. How many lives are affected?? Is this guy worth for us to symphatise with him? Maybe. Should he be saved? No.
I just read too that his lawyers said that he was an arrogant and proud fellow when they first met him but he changed during the last few weeks of his life. He started believing in God, he was very compassionate and friendly to others.
His brother decided to turn over a new leaf. He’s now wanting to further his studies. Many people learnt not to deal with drugs as Van Nguyen told them so just before he died. Many people learnt from his story.
The cost of all these? One man’s life.
The changes in many ppl’s life? Priceless.
It was the so-called babaric/undemocratic/backwards death penalty that changed Van nguyen, his brother, his family, his friends and all that learnt from him.
It was the death penalty that made him a better man just before he die.
There’re two sides to a coin. If there was clemency given earlier or some political inteference in the court system somehow released van nguyen. Would he stop drug smuggling? Will he learn his lesson? Will his brother turn over a new leaf? Will some or maybe even one of us learn from his story and not do or smuggle drugs?
Will he become a better man?
Very Unlikely.
Praise the system that changed the lives of so many ppl. I’m happy he became a better man before he was hanged. I hope he can rest in peace and become a even better person in his next life.
REVISED VERSION:
How could anyone of u possibly believe in the media?? The people who knew him will never say that he’s a bad person to the press. The press will not even publish it. They publish news to make money. That’s why they played up all the hype to create sympathy for Van Nguyen. What they didn’t know is that from their selfish attitudes, the media destroyed his only chance – clemency.
Van Nguyen might be a good person, or a bad person. Those who knew him might say he is a good guy but I believe he’s just a desperate, young, arrogant and ignorant guy. He tried to smuggle drugs and he says he was doing this to help pay off his brother’s debt. Nice story, but there are many other ways to earn money other than drug smuggling. This was his biggest mistake. He didn’t care what might happen to him. He didn’t think bout his close ones and his family. He didn’t think about the victims of drugs.
The Australian government didn’t put pressure on Singapore until the media hype came. Until then it was too late, the sentence was already passed and appeals turned down. The media played the hype even more. Critizing Singapore’s policy, the public wrote to condemn Singapore. The government was pressured. Then they try pressuring Singapore then. By that time, the whole world knew bout it. A nation would never back down on it’s policy and law publicly. That’s why they never gave clemency to Van Nguyen.
Who was wrong in this case?
It was partly Van Nguyen’s lawyers’ fault, who used the media as the last resort.
Partly the government as they reacted only in the last minute. If they had given pressure from day One and without publicity, Singapore just might let him go quietly or grant him clemency.
Partly the Media too as they played up the hype too much, causing Singapore not to bend their rules. Honour and Integrity are very important to the Chinese and they will never wan to lose face, that’s why Singapore was strict.
The Singapore government was not wrong, it’s the law and they must uphold it (especially in front of the media and press).
Why Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and few other countries have this death penalty for drug smugglers? South East Asian countries are the centres for drug smuggling. They are using South-East Asian countries as centres to smuggle the drugs worldwide. It is the very root of the worldwide drugs smuggling network. That is why we need strict laws.
Barbaric? Maybe.
Justified? Yes.
This might be too heavy for just drug smuggling some of u might say and having the death penalty will not stop people from smuggling drugs. If this is the case, why are there aws?? This shows how ignorant some people are. Having prison and jail penalties will never stop thieves, robbers, murderers from acting.
It will not bring the death back to life. Then why should we have it? To control the society u dumbheads, without strict laws the society will go down.
U think freedom is good? It’s too much freedom that is causing moral ills. The capitalist system is causing many people to be selfish. Too much freedom will one day pull over society back to the dark ages. That’s why our society needs control. It needs laws that are strict. Having the laws will never stop the real criminals from acting, but it will stop many of us from committing crimes. It will let criminals who were caught get what they deserve. I believe in democracy, human rights and freedom but too much freedom is no good for mankind.
“He’s so young”, “He’s just trying to help his brother”, “As a mother I sympathize with his mother…” etc.
The law is the law. No matter what you do or why u do it, u still broke the law. Everyone is equal before the law, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a president’s son, A mother, A father and even a president you’re still the same in front of the law.
Laws are made by humans and the court can be sympathetic with u and reduce your sentence etc.
In Van Nguyen’s case. It’s Mandatory. There’s no other choice.
“Capital punishment shows how barbaric/backwards Singapore is”, “Death Penalty is an infringement to Human Rights”, “We oppose death penalties, Singapore must be pressured in to releasing Van Nguyen(suggestions might be nationwide boycott to Singapore, refusing to grant Singapore airlines the lucrative pacific route etc”
This shows half of the Australian people practice double standards.
Tell that to USA. They have the Death Penalty too. Yet they are one of the most democratic countries in the world and one that respects human rights the most.
If all u guys say is true. Then yes, USA is a backward country too.
Refusing SIA routes? Boycotting Singapore?? Singapore must release Van Nguyen.
These shows Australians are so naive that they believe they are so special. They believe they are like the police in the SEA region. They are the kings. They have the say over everything. If nothing goes their way, they can threaten other countries. They can interfere with another country’s law. Come on Aussies. Come on. Don’t ever try to portray your country as an unreasonable country that likes to bully others.
I just read that Van Nguyen was originally charged with carrying around 800g of Heroin. Double of what he’s being charged now (The penalty is still the same, so maybe the Singapore court tried to make him “look better” to the press, not realising the consequences).
if that is really the case, den the drugs can be used for 52,000 shots. How many lives are affected??
Is this guy worth for us to sympathise with him? Maybe.
Should he be saved? No.
I just read too that his lawyers said that he was an arrogant and proud fellow when they first met him but he changed during the last few weeks of his life. He started believing in God, he was very compassionate and friendly to others.
His brother decided to turn over a new leaf. He now wants to further his studies. Many people learnt not to deal with drugs as Van Nguyen told them so just before he died. Many people learnt from his story.
The cost of all these? One man’s life.
The changes in so many people’s life? Priceless.
So It’s the so-called barbaric/undemocratic/backwards death penalty that changed Van Nguyen, his brother, his family, his friends and all that learnt from him.
It was the death penalty that made him a better man just before he die.
There’re two sides to a coin. If there was clemency given earlier or some political interference in the court system somehow released Van Nguyen. Would he stop drug smuggling? Will he learn his lesson? Will his brother turn over a new leaf? Will some or maybe even one of us learn from his story and not do or smuggle drugs?
Will he become a better man?
Very Unlikely.
I believe that while the Death Penalty might be a little too harsh for a person like Van Nguyen. But the law is the law. Praise the system that changed the lives of so many people. I’m happy he became a better man before he was hanged. I hope he can rest in peace and become a even better person in his next life.
Yeah, don’t read unreliable media like I was, they try to potray him like an innocent man trying to help his brother to clear the debt! I felt disgusted after realizing it! Now, I felt Nguyen deserve it! You got the guts to do the stunt on the harsh laws, knowing that you will face death if you fall. Now you fall, face it like a man for the death. When the laws said “No” it means “No”. Laws has been set clearly. Once you break it, the laws maker/government won’t break it just to save you. If they can, it won’t be fair for the ex-people who got hanged, and it won’t be fair for their majority citizens who selected the government and agreed with the laws set. We all know death penalty is too harsh for this case, but the Singapore government has set their laws clearly. Don’t mess with it. Hope this case will send an awaking calls to everyone. Amen.
For those who thinks it serves Nguyen right then read this:
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Global_Secrets_Lies/BurmaSingapore_Drugs.html
-what hypocrisy!
To me, the people who must be put to death is Lee Hsien Loong and his cronies.
So what if Singapore has relations with Burma..u tell me.. so what! The basic notion underlying this is the principle of a sovereign nation. The Asean Concord and Treaty of Amity and Cooperation 1979 chartered out non interference of another countries policies. Therefore, by agreement of all ASEAN nations, this is the law. As u read in newspapers, some ASEAN politicians have openly critize Mynmmar, but trust me, they will be taught some ABC lessons on Mynmmar by their respective Prime Ministers. If u cane ur son at home because u lose some money in shares and ur son got a D for his maths, u wont want me to bring a steel bar to wake u in ur house for the ill treatment u gave to the family. Die Nguyen…and u above shall die with him.. personally, i would feel a littttle bit safer in this world if u would die with him so that i know that there would be another drug dealer supporter less in this region.
sorry..the treaty is in 1976
By the way, Lee Hsien Loong’s job is only to protect his countrymen and not Mynmmars countrymen. So, its not wrong for him to deal with Mynmmar. Unless Mynmmar exporterd drugs into Singapore and he did ntg thats a hypocrite. Well, Mynmmar did not OFFICIALLY send drugs to Singapore and Singapore did not buy drugs from Mynmmar so..the notion stands, Die Nguyen and the person above.
Thumbs up to Anon.
man! ppl r so money minded nowadays.. y cant they juz save him 1st den only settle the freaking bill?!?!?! and the polic here is juz ARGH… no comment…
???
ok im not going back to malaysia… its so fucked up… im staying here in new zealand
Fuck u and fuck ur new zealand drugs too
sigh i kinda understand how u feel.. i’ve lost two of my loves ones last year 2005 which sucks…
Young Khairul was from my school – GIS, KL. He was my friend’s boyfriend. It was a sad case in our school. Everyone was pouring their tears out. WE all still miss him dearly….
for all the hype, as conclusion i think the lawmakers in spore also deserve to go to hell.
Knew the law, so what. When talking about weather someone deserves to die or not you look at the moral delema. In some countries they stone women to death for adultary, chop peoples heads off for possessing a bible. These things are all legal, therefore right…..is that right. Of course not. It should not be legal anywhere to kill a drug trafficer, why, because they are not murderers. They kill nobody, not anymore then a shop that sells tobbacco. Smoking kills nearly 20 times as many people as every hard drug combined. At the end of the day, smoking, drugs, drinking, etc, can only hurt you if you choose to do it. Killing Van Nguyen whos drugs never killed anybody is like making a law for death penalty for speeding because speeding people kill people, and even if your actuall speeding didn’t kill anybody, you still get blamed for all the deaths anyway. It’s even worse in the case of a drug dealer, his so called victims took drugs by their own free will, subjected themselves to the well known risks. People who believe that voilence and killing individuals belong in the dark ages. As a civilised human being, I choose to appose the use of barbaric punishment where ever they take place, and I deem them wrong, regardless of what laws have been inacted by whoever, that means nothing. What is wrong with the world now, and in the past is that there are way too many people willing to condem and kill others, it is you that should be removed from this earth more then anybody else.
He should be serving a long jail sentence. His executioner should be rotting in hell. He is a murderer, a serial killer.
I had appendicitis when I was eleven. Scared the hell out of me to think about surgery. I got out okay. One boy, in the same year tho, had appendicitis and went to goverment hospital. Died. He was only 12. Felt damn depressed.
my condolences to all about the people you have posted. sue the hospital la
I know this is many years over do but in the memory of Khairul Anuar Salim. I was his junior in school and we were on the football/soccer team together. As a junior and being in the starting line up of the senior A team (U18 division), I received a lot of hate from the older boys who were on the B team and even on the A team because of jealousy or racism or whatever the case was. Khairul always came to my defence when he witnessed his own peers and friends pick on me or played “dirty” with me during our training sessions. In all honestly, we were never close or really friends, at the most we were team mates but even then, as a young man, he naturally stepped up and confronted injustice wherever he was and always did his best to diffuse the situation. This young man would of been a blessing upon this earth and our society if he wasn’t left to bleed out in the waiting room of f***ing hospital.
Kahirul, thank you for always defending me, I feel heart broken imagining the amazing man you would have grown up to be if you were still alive.
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