Malaysian Drug Trafficker Loses Bid to Escape Death Sentence in Singapore

Yong Vui Kong, a 23-year-old Malaysian who faces execution for smuggling 47 grams (1.7 ounces) of heroin to Singapore, lost a bid at the city state’s highest court for a presidential review of his sentence.

Yong’s lawyer M. Ravi asked a 3-judge appeal panel to re-examine Singapore’s clemency process, in the 1st case of its kind. Ravi had argued the president had the power to grant a pardon, rather than Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s cabinet, which had earlier advised President SR Nathan not to commute the sentence.

Yong’s appeal was “devoid of merit,” Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong said in delivering the verdict today on behalf of a three-judge panel.

Singapore, which has one of the world’s lowest crime rates, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, has a mandatory death sentence for drug smuggling. Yong had lost an earlier appeal in which he argued the mandatory provision was unconstitutional.

Ravi said he plans to appeal again to the city state’s cabinet seeking clemency.

“He was hoping for the best,” Ravi said after the ruling. “He’s deeply disappointed and aggrieved by the judgment.”

Yong, who appeared in court today in a purple prison jumpsuit with his head shaved, was a former kitchen helper who sold DVDs in a night market. He claimed he tried to provide money for his mother by smuggling drugs into Singapore. An online petition appealing for clemency for Yong had at least 42,039 signatures.

Mandatory Death Sentence

Singapore also imposes a mandatory death sentence for murder and some firearms offenses. The city’s overall crime rate slipped 0.6 percent to 32,986 cases last year, according to data from the police.

“We take a very serious view of drug trafficking,” Lee said in December 2005, when he dismissed Australia’s calls to commute Australian drug smuggler Nguyen Tuong Van’s death sentence. “The penalty is death.”

Nguyen’s death sentence for smuggling 396 grams of heroin into Singapore in 2002 caused an uproar in Australia. Consumers, politicians and newspapers editorials there called for boycotts of companies including Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.’s Optus unit and Singapore Airlines Ltd.

The case is Yong Vui Kong v Attorney-General CA144/2010 in the Singapore Court of Appeal.

Click here to sign an online petition urging Singapore's president to commute Yong Vui Kong's death sentence to a prison sentence.

Source: Bloomberg News, April 4, 2011

Court upholds death sentence against Vui Kong in drug case

SINGAPORE: The Court of Appeal here has dismissed the appeal by Sabah-born Yong Vui Kong, 23, who was sentenced to death by the High Court for possession of 47.27gm of heroin.

The appeal was dismissed in a joint judgment by Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong and Judges of Appeal Justice Andrew Phang Boon Leong and Justice V.K. Rajah yesterday.

Vui Kong’s lawyer M. Ravi had brought up several points in the appeal, including a statement by the republic’s Law Minister K. Shanmugam who commented last May that he should not be pardoned as it could lead to an increase in drug-related activities in the country.

The statement was made before Yong could submit his clemency application to Singapore president S.R. Nathan.

Before announcing their judgment, Chan explained that the three judges had unanimously agreed that the appeal had no merit and should be dismissed.

Vui Kong, who kept looking down during the whole process, seemed distraught when the decision was finally made.

Outside the court, his elder brother Vun Leong, 26, said he was saddened by the court’s decision.

“I feel that they are being unfair to my brother as he was young, uneducated and easily influenced at the time of the incident.

“I hope the Malaysian Government will help him as he has changed for the better,” he said.

Vun Leong said he had yet to break the news to his mother.

Ravi said he would continue with his clemency petition to the Singapore president.

“Although the decision is very disappointing, we will not give up and will submit the clemency petition to the president within the next three months,” he said, adding that the president then had three months to reply.

“We will also be appealing to the Malaysian Government to intercede on Vui Kong’s behalf. Hopefully, it will make a difference,” he said.

Ravi said he would also be filing an official complaint on the Appeal Court’s decision to the International Court of Justice.

“We hope the Malaysian Government will strongly back us on this,” he said.

Vui Kong was caught in June 2007 when he was 18 and was sentenced to death in January 2009.

Source: The Star, April 5, 2011
_________________________

Use the tags below or the search engine at the top of this page to find updates, older or related articles on this Website.

Comments

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Texas inmate seeks to stop looming execution after codefendant confesses to double murder

In his appeal, James Broadnax, who wants a new trial, included a signed confession by his cousin saying he committed the 2008 Garland murders. With just 42 days remaining until his scheduled execution by lethal injection on April 30, 2026, in Huntsville, Texas death row inmate James Broadnax, 37, filed a new appeal Thursday with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, seeking to stay the date, remand his case for a new trial, and ultimately vacate his death sentence for the 2008 capital murders of music producers Stephen Swan, 26, and Matthew Butler, 28, outside their Zion Gate Records studio in Garland. A fabricated story The appeal centers on a signed written declaration from Broadnax's cousin and codefendant, Demarius Cummings, 37—dated March 11 and obtained by media outlets in which Cummings confesses that he alone planned the June 19, 2008, robbery, obtained the pistol used in the crime, and fired the fatal shots during the botched holdup that netted only $2 in cash and a 1995 Fo...

Iranian Gay Activist: "They Forced Me to Watch Executions So I Would Know How Mine Would Be"

Iranian LGBT activist now living as a refugee in Spain. He was sentenced to death by the ayatollah regime for being homosexual and for his support campaign for the community. "The enemy was already at home," he says about the current war In 11 countries around the world, homosexuality is punishable by death - it is criminalized in almost 70 countries. One of them is the Islamic Republic of Iran, from where Ramtin Zigorat (Tabriz, 1988) managed to escape after avoiding a death sentence and enduring the worst tortures. He has been living as a refugee in Spain for six and a half years. Question . His life, his testimony, can help us better understand what the Iranian Islamist regime is. I believe that until adolescence, you did not fully understand that you were homosexual.

Once Nevada’s youngest on death row, double murderer paroled as victims’ family claims silence from state

LAS VEGAS — A man who once stood as the youngest person on Nevada’s death row has officially transitioned from a life behind bars to a life under supervision, following his release from High Desert State Prison last month. Edward Michael Domingues, 49, was released on parole on Feb. 13, 2026. His freedom marks the end of 32 consecutive years of incarceration for the 1993 murders of Arjin Chanel Pechpho and her 4-year-old son, Jonathan Smith. Since his release, the case has ignited a renewed debate over Nevada’s victim notification systems. Tawin Eshelman, the mother and grandmother of the victims, confirmed that the family was never formally notified of the parole hearing that led to Domingues' freedom.

Georgia | 11th Circuit confirms lethal injection execution for Georgia inmate wanting firing squad

In his complaint, Michael Wade Nance said his veins were so severely compromised that they were likely to blow and cause him to suffer “excruciating pain” during the execution. ATLANTA (CN) — A panel for the 11th Circuit on Thursday upheld a judge’s ruling against a death row inmate who sought an execution by a firing squad instead of lethal injection. The decision paves the way for the state’s long-awaited execution of Michael Wade Nance, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death over 25 years ago. In a unanimous opinion, the circuit judges agreed with a federal judge’s conclusion that Nance failed to prove lethal injection was likely to cause him an unconstitutional level of pain or discomfort.

Arizona | Death Row Inmate Challenges Execution Warrant, Citing 2025 Cyberattack and Protocol Failures

Leroy Dean McGill was sentenced to death for a 2002 gasoline attack in North Phoenix against a couple, Charles Perez and Nova Banta. PHOENIX — Attorneys for Arizona death row inmate Leroy Dean McGill have formally challenged the state’s attempt to secure an execution warrant, citing a catastrophic 2025 cyberattack and a long history of troubled lethal injection protocols. The challenge comes as Arizona seeks to resume capital punishment following a year-long hiatus. If the Arizona Supreme Court grants the state’s request, McGill would become the first person executed in the state since 2024.

Florida Supreme Court halts execution of police officer convicted of raping, murdering girl

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — The execution of a former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl was temporarily halted Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court. The court issued a stay in execution for 68-year-old James Aren Duckett, who was scheduled to receive a three-drug injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke. Duckett was sentenced to death in 1988 after being convicted of first-degree murder and sexual battery.

Taiwan’s Oldest Death Row Prisoner Denied Retrial by Supreme Court

TAIWAN’S OLDEST DEATH ROW prisoner, Wang Xin-fu, has been denied a retrial by the Supreme Court. This occurs despite the fact that Wang has consistently maintained his innocence and, in fact, did not commit the murders for which he is on death row. In particular, Wang was sentenced to capital punishment in 2006 over the killing of two police officers at a karaoke bar in 1990. The shooting was committed by Chen Rong-jie, who was then 19. Wang was accused of ordering the hit. It is believed that Wang’s confession of guilt was extracted through torture and intimidation.

Florida executes Michael King

Killer of stay-at-home mom whose death led to 911 reform is executed Michael King kidnapped Denise Amber Lee from her Florida home in broad daylight in 2008. If it weren't for a botched 911 call, Lee may have survived the ordeal. Florida has executed a death row inmate for the rape and murder of a stay-at-home mom whose death exposed the vulnerabilities of the 911 system nationwide and led to reform within the industry. Michael King, 54, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, March 17, for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee. King abducted the married mother of 2 young sons from her home in broad daylight on Jan. 17, 2008, less than an hour before Lee's husband returned from work.

Texas: Dexter Darnell Johnson to die on August 15; Larry Ray Swearingen on August 21

Dexter Darnell Johnson's execution is scheduled to occur at 6 pm CDT, on Thursday, August 15, 2019, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. 31-year-old Dexter is convicted of the murder of 23-year-old Maria Aparece and 17-year-old Huy Ngo on June 18, 2006, in Houston, Texas. Dexter has spent the last 11 years of his life on Texas’ death row. Dexter was born and raised in Texas. He dropped out of school following the 9th grade. During the early morning hours of June 18, 2006, Dexter Johnson and 4 of his friends, Ashley Ervin, Louis Ervin, Keithron Fields, and Timothy Randle, were driving around in Ashley’s car, looking for someone to rob. The group discovered Maria Aparece and Huy Ngo siting in Maria’s vehicle on the street. Johnson took a shot gun and stood outside the driver’s side door, threatening to shoot Maria if she did not cooperate. Johnson demanded she open the door, and when she did, he threw her into the ...

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog