Out of all the countries in South-east Asia, only Malaysia and Singapore have the mandatory death penalty for drug offences. In Malaysia, the mandatory death penalty comes under the Dangerous Drugs Act, while in Singapore it comes under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Unlike the “regular” death penalty, the mandatory death penalty means that the judges do not have any discretion in terms of sentencing. Once found guilty of the crime, the only sentence is death.
In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of a resolution calling for a global moratorium on the death penalty. Singapore and Malaysia were among the 54 countries that voted against the resolution. However, Malaysia appears to be having a change of heart.
Anti-death penalty campaigners in Malaysia have been working hard, and the case of
Yong Vui Kong, a young Sabahan on death row in Singapore, has gained a lot of support throughout the country, prompting further debate and discussion of not just the mandatory death penalty, but the death penalty itself.
Please click
here to send an email to Singapore's president urging him to commute Yong Vui Kong's death sentence to a prison sentence and thus grant this very young man a "second chance".
Related articles:
Jul 11, 2011
Sabahan Yong Vui Kong, 23, is on death row in Singapore for drug trafficking. Malaysiakini is publishing Yong's final letters to Yetian, a member of the Save Vui Kong Campaign, as he faces death. ...
Jun 28, 2011
Yong Vui Kong, 22, was arrested in June 2007 on drug charges. In Singapore there is a MANDATORY DEATH SENTENCE for all drug trafficking. Yong Vui Kong has exhausted all his appeals. His last hope rests on presidential ...
_________________________
Use the tags below or the search engine at the top of this page to find updates, older or related articles on this Website.
