Posted on 12/01/2005 7:23:01 AM PST by 1066AD
Australian man prepares to hang
The family of an Australian man facing the death penalty in Singapore has visited him for probably the last time. Nguyen Truong Van, 25, is scheduled to be hanged before dawn on Friday, after being found with 400g (14 ounces) of heroin at Singapore's airport in 2002.
His mother and twin brother visited him at Changi prison on Thursday.
Singapore has ignored calls for clemency for Nguyen, and on Thursday, Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock branded his hanging "barbaric".
Mr Ruddock said the case had mitigating circumstances, because Nguyen had said he smuggled the drugs to earn enough money to pay off legal bills of A$30,000 (£13,000). incurred by his twin brother, a one-time heroin addict.
It was a great visit and quite uplifting Lex Lasry, lawyer
"It's a most unfortunate, barbaric act that is occurring," Mr Ruddock said.
Nguyen's case has prompted intense media coverage in Australia, though a poll released on Thursday suggested people were divided over whether the death penalty was justified.
'Uplifting'
Nguyen's mother appeared at the jail looking distressed.
During her son's captivity, she has been unable to have any physical contact with him, only being allowed to see and speak to him through a glass partition.
But the Singapore government said on Thursday it would allow the two to hold hands during their final meeting, following a personal appeal by Australia's Prime Minister John Howard.
One of Nguyen's lawyers, Lex Lasry, has said his client was ready to die.
"We've just had a beautiful last visit. It was a great visit and quite uplifting," he said on Thursday.
Nguyen, who was born in Vietnam but lived in Melbourne, was arrested while in transit at Singapore's Changi airport.
Singapore has some of the strictest drug trafficking laws in the world, and anyone found with 15g of heroin faces a mandatory death penalty.
According to Amnesty International, about 420 people have been hanged in Singapore since 1991, mostly for drugs offences.
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4487366.stm
The absence of any numbers suggests people were probably not against the sentence.
Mitigating?
Those are aggravating circumstances. He knew firsthand the damage that this addiction inflicts on addicts' families and he decided to become a heroin mule anyway?
Hanging's too good for 'im.
Oh dear! What's his brother going to do now?
Well that makes it all right then. Idiot.
"Australian man prepares to hang"
How does one prepare?
LOL
Why would anyone go to Singapore anyway.
If ever there's a place to fly into that gives fair warnings about "zero tolerance", it's Singapore...you get warned on your Landing Card and repeatedly at the Changi Airports "Amnesty Bins".
Making your peace with God is not a bad place to start.
My understanding is that when you debark into the Singapore Airport, there is big sign saying "Possession of illegal drugs or weapons is punishable by Death." Right beneath it is the amnesty barrel.
He bet his life and lost.
Because it is a very interesting place to be. A terific mix of cultures, great food, lots to do. I'd go in a heartbeat. Plus, it is safe. Lots of druggies are on death row.
Can we send Tookie to Singapore?
I wonder what they do to you if you murder someone?
Probably execute you; and your next of kin. - Tom
Death seems a little extreme here.
I bet it is, but I'd be shaking with terror the whole time that some druggie would manage to slip his stash into my luggage while I have my back turned for a split second.
""A terific mix of cultures, great food, lots to do.""
Come to the Mountains of Western North Carolina.
At least his hanging isn't being preceded by 200 lashes.....
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