30nov05
SINGAPORE'S High Commissioner in Australia Joseph Koh has defended his country's decision to execute convicted drug trafficker Nguyen Tuong Van as correct and responsible.
In an opinion piece published in Fairfax newspapers today, Mr Koh said Singapore had not breached international law, with no existing international agreement to abolish the death penalty.
"Capital punishment remains part of the criminal justice systems of 76 countries, including in the United States, where it is practised in 38 states," he said.
"We respect Australia's sovereign choice not to have capital punishment. We hope Australia will likewise respect Singapore's sovereign choice to impose the death penalty for the most serious crimes, including drug trafficking."
Mr Koh's comments were in direct contradiction to a statement issued by former Australian High Court judge and governor-general Sir William Deane yesterday.
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Sir William, who commented on the Nguyen case in a "private capacity", said Friday's planned execution was a breach of the standards of international law.
"What is involved is the intended execution of an Australian citizen pursuant to a mandatory death sentence," Sir William said in the statement.
"That is to say without any true assessment by a court of what punishment is appropriate in all the circumstances of the particular case.
"That being so, the proposed killing of Mr Van Nguyen would be a breach by Singapore of basic current principles and standards of international law."
But Mr Koh said Australians should accept the Singapore Government's responsibility to protect people whose lives would be "blighted and destroyed by the drug syndicates".
In a piece in which he debunks "fictions" that have sprung up around the Nguyen case, Mr Koh said the punishment did fit the crime.
"Mr Nguyen was caught with 396g of pure heroin, enough for 26,000 'hits', with a street value of more than $A1 million," he wrote.
Other "fictions" were that Nguyen could testify against drug lords, that Nguyen was an unsuspecting victim and that the death penalty had not deterred drug trafficking.
He denied that the Singapore Government "connived with drug lords" and that Singapore had treated Australia with contempt.
"Singapore highly values good relations with Australia and with Australian leaders," he said.
"The Singapore cabinet deliberated at length on Mr Nguyen's clemency petition... unfortunately, finally the cabinet decided that it could not justify making an exception for Mr Nguyen.
"It had to treat Mr Nguyen consistently with similar past cases, and apply the law equally to Singaporeans and foreigners."