Pubdate: Sun, 04 Dec 2005
Source: Manawatu Evening Standard (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2005 Manawatu Evening Standard
Contact:  http://www.manawatueveningstandard.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1057

FAMILY FLIES BODY OF EXECUTED AUSSIE HOME

SINGAPORE: The family and lawyers of an Australian drug trafficker 
executed in Singapore flew home with the body on Saturday and the 
lawyers vowed to campaign against the death penalty in the region.

Lex Lasry, the lawyer of 25-year-old Nguyen Tuong Van, said he would 
persuade the Australian government to take the lead to campaign for 
the abolishment of the death penalty in the region.

Nguyen was hanged on Friday for carrying 400gm of heroin while in 
transit in Singapore three years ago.

"The end of Van's life must not be the end of the campaign against 
the mandatory death penalty," Lasry told reporters at the Singapore 
Changi Airport where Nguyen was caught.

"We will ask the government to formalise a strong policy so Australia 
can take the lead, especially in this region, against the death 
penalty and in particular against the mandatory death penalty."

Lasry said Australia - a staunch opponent of the death penalty - must 
not have double standards and should also speak out against the 
execution of terrorists in Indonesia.

Nguyen's mother Kim and twin brother Khoa arrived at the airport on 
Saturday evening. Wearing a peach-coloured headscarf, Kim was crying 
as she was led into the check-in area of the airport. Khoa, dressed 
in black and wearing a crucifix around his neck, was composed as he 
comforted his mother.

Nguyen's execution put a spotlight on Singapore's death penalty, 
which dictates automatic execution for anyone over 18 convicted of 
carrying more than 15gm of heroin.

Lasry condemned Singapore's use of the mandatory death penalty and 
called for the city-state to review its laws.

"Singapore is going to have to understand that a first-world country 
cannot continue to hang people without giving them a chance to say 
why they should not be executed."

Nguyen, born in a refugee camp in Thailand, had said he was carrying 
drugs to help pay off his brother's debts from loan sharks.

Local leaders and activists are sceptical that Singapore, described 
by rights group Amnesty International as having one of the highest 
execution rates in the world relative to its population, will repeal 
its austere laws.

"I can confidently say he will not be the last to be hanged," said 
opposition politician Steve Chia at a forum held on Saturday by civil 
rights group Think Centre.

"Most Singaporeans are too caught up in making a decent living to 
care about one convicted trafficker in our society," said Chia, who 
is also a nominated member of parliament.

Singapore's media watchdog, the Media Development Authority, has 
ordered a theatre director to scrap the performance of a play about 
the death penalty to be staged on Saturday.

"They said it was better if we just scrapped the whole thing," said 
Benny Lim, artistic director of The Fun Stage. "They said a play 
about death penalty is not good at this time."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman