Posted on 06/28/2010 4:35:49 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
SINGAPORE : Swiss national Oliver Fricker has been sentenced to five months jail and three strokes of the cane.
The 32-year-old IT consultant pleaded guilty to trespassing into the SMRT Changi Depot and spray-painting two train carriages.
A third vandalism charge for cutting the depot's fence was taken into consideration.
Fricker committed the offences between May 16 and 17 with an alleged accomplice, identified as Dane Alexander Lloyd, a Briton who has since left Singapore.
The court was told Lloyd allegedly masterminded the plan, and had corresponded with a spray paint supplier before his arrival in Singapore on May 15.
The next day, the pair looked for a dimly-lit area of fence surrounding the depot and cut a hole in it. They then painted the two carriages nearest to the fence.
Fricker had allegedly been "extremely nervous" when entering the depot, and needed to be coaxed by Lloyd.
They fled in a taxi and went to Boat Quay for drinks, before ending up at Fricker's apartment at Sail@Marina Bay.
Lloyd showed Fricker the photographs he'd taken, before they went to sleep.
On May 18, the pair left for Hong Kong for a holiday.
The court also heard that Fricker was an experienced graffiti artiste. He had painted graffiti - legally - at Singapore's Youth Park before.
The case saw hours of mitigation and repeated delays in court.
Fricker's lawyer Derek Kang said his client had made a one-off mistake, while under the influence of alcohol.
He added the graffiti had not incited hatred, and left no lasting damage.
But the prosecution said Fricker's sentence should act as a general deterrent for the public.
Fricker's lawyer said his client had shown genuine remorse by cooperating fully with police.
"My client has commenced serving his sentence. We are filing an appeal because we feel that it is on the high side. We hope that the papers can be expedited, and we will see how things go at the appeal," said Lawyer Kang.
In his judgement, District Judge See Kee Oon had called the act "calculated criminal conduct", and said Fricker must now face the consequences.
A constant retort I read about the U.S. drug laws is that a death penalty for drug traffickers doesn’t stop the flow of drugs OR their illegal use.
How prevalent is the illegal use of drugs in Singapore, do you know?
Exactly.I've been to Singapore only once and when I saw the sign at the airport I knew two things...1)that Singapore doesn't fool around when it comes to their laws and 2)that I needed a change of underwear (and I didn't even have any drugs or cigarettes on me).
The cab driver who picked me up at the airport told me a bit about the laws.No chewing gum...no spitting....Yikes!
He should have got at least a year, like what needs to be done to any graffiti scumbag here in the US on the first offense.
Fricker will learn not to Frick around with Singapore law. “Three strokes of the cane” may not sound like much, but we’re talking permanent scarring.
Singapore’s policy keeps drugs at bay
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100611-0000105/Singapores-policy-keeps-drugs-at-bay
Drug abuse blights modern societies.
That is why many governments are focused on tackling addiction, preventing drug-related crimes and ultimately protecting their populations.
Singapore’s tough stand and use of strict laws and stiff penalties against those involved in the drug trade, including capital punishment, have sometimes come under criticism.
The comment by Mr Patrick Gallahue and Mr Rick Lines of the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) prompted by the trial of a drug trafficker Yong Vui Kong and the imposition of the death penalty on him is a recent instance.
Singapore pursues a comprehensive national strategy to combat the scourge of drugs, comprising a high-profile public education campaign, treatment and rehabilitation of drug offenders, as well as strict laws and stiff penalties against those involved in the drug trade.
Public education against drug abuse starts in schools. For abusers, our approach is to try hard to wean them off drugs and deter them from relapsing.
They are given two chances in a drug rehabilitation centre. If they go through counselling, kick their drug habit and return to society with useful skills, they will not have any criminal record.
Those who are still addicted go to prison, where they are put on general rehabilitation programmes to help them reintegrate into the community.
Strong community support against drug abuse has been critical to our fight against drugs. Singapore society resolutely rejects drug abuse.
Several voluntary welfare organisations run halfway houses to help recovering addicts adjust back into society. Many employers also come forward to offer reformed drug addicts employment opportunities.
Drug traffickers are a major part of the problem on the supply side. They make drugs available in our communities and profit from the human misery they help create.
This is why tough laws and penalties are needed, including capital punishment for trafficking in significant amounts of the most harmful drugs.
This sends a strong deterrent signal to would-be traffickers.
But unfortunately, attracted by the lucrative payoffs, some still traffic in drugs knowing full well the penalty if they get caught.
With all these efforts, Singapore has one of the lowest prevalence of drug abuse worldwide, even though it has not been entirely eliminated.
Over two decades, the number of drug abusers arrested each year has declined by two-thirds, from over 6,000 in the early ‘90s to about 2,000 last year.
Fewer than two in 10 abusers released from prison or drug rehabilitation centres relapse within two years. We do not have traffickers pushing drugs openly in the streets, nor do we need to run needle exchange centres.
Because of our strict laws, Singapore does not have to contend with major drug syndicates linked to organised crime, unlike some other countries.
According to the 2008 World Drug Report by the United Nations office on drugs and crime 8.2 per cent of the United Kingdom’s population are cannabis abusers; in Singapore it is 0.005 per cent.
For ecstasy, the figures are 1.8 per cent for the UK and 0.003 per cent for Singapore; and for opiates - such as heroin, opium and morphine - 0.9 per cent for the UK and 0.005 per cent for Singapore.
Singapore’s use of capital punishment has come under criticism.
However, contrary to the assertions of anti-death penalty campaigners like Gallahue and Lines, Singapore laws that specify the death penalty for certain drug offences do not contravene international law. Notably, at the United Nations general assembly in 2008, 46 countries, including some of the world’s largest democracies, voted against a draft resolution proposing a moratorium on the death penalty. Another 34 countries abstained.
In the recent case of Yong Vui Kong, the court of appeal acknowledged that the mandatory death penalty is constitutional, and the high court expressly found that Yong Vui Kong knew he was carrying the drugs.
Every society strikes its own balance between the rights of the individual and the rights of society. Capital punishment is an integral part of our successful comprehensive anti-drug strategy.
Our tough stance against drugs has saved tens of thousands of lives from the drug menace. It is therefore not surprising that the majority of Singaporeans continue to support the death penalty.
My understanding is that the big fear is that they would become a major transit point.Singapore is in Southeast Asia and can be considered to be the crossroads of the Pacific/Indian Ocean.
As far as I could see just about *everything* is illegal there.Everywhere you look you see signs that say stuff like "$100 fine for spitting"...etc.OTH,however,Singapore...one of the most densely populated cities on earth...and a city located in a very rough neighborhood...is immaculate,modern,peaceful and prosperous.
32 years old, huh? Any wagers on whether he’s going learn a lesson?
LOL!
Oh well,stupidity knows no national boundaries,eh?
We’re aware, but I recall an Australian who was executed for peddling drugs there, about a year or so ago. They hanged him, long-drop style.
Stupidity indeed knows no barriers. Some are probably fatalistic thrill-seekers.
Thank you both for the timely response.
Without being aware of Singapore’s Laws, I’ve been advocating almost exactly the same legal statutes for the U.S., including drug rehab and/or prison for users, and execution for drug traffickers.
All joking aside, Singapore is a wonderful place - clean, with nice people and safe at any hour.
Lee Kuan Yew was a genius Statesman - the only one since the Founding Fathers and sadly, the last.
First thing I noticed.
This guy must be a total loser if at age 32 he gets his jollies from graffiti.
Is this sign from public transit or what?
I was still a hooligan at 32, but I had already learned not to go to Singapore in order to be one.
Not sure exactly, but there is a very popular tee shirt sold in Singapore that says, "Singapore - A Fine City"...
Then it has a list of all the fines for various infractions.
There are a lot of variations on this theme.
His age struck me, as well. Any vandal a jerk, but a 32-year-old? He should be caned 20 times.
I support Singapore on how they deal with drug traffickers. With that said, I would also be afraid to fly through there especially if the drugs were planted in my luggage unknown to me.
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