Hello, and for all those who do not know about Mr. Yong Vui Kong, he is a 23 going on 24 year old Malaysian-Chinese young man who have been prisoned in Singapore because he was found to be carrying 47.27g of heroin. The Singapore government has sentenced him to death. Please, take the time, to watch this video which should be shared and played again and again all over the world.
This is the letter which I have just wrote to the president of Singapore and the law minister of Singapore.
Your Excellency SR Nathan and Mr Minister Honorable K Shanmugam,
RE: YONG VUI KONG AND DEATH PENALTY IN SINGAPORE
I am writing you a letter of petition in regards to Mr. Yong Vui Kong, 23, which I have just discovered on Facebook.com via FreeAlanShadrake about an hour ago.
In 2003, I was educated in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia about Amnesty International and what it does for humans in this world. As a fifteen year old student, I was involved in volunteer work in an Amnesty International movement week project in raising awareness and carrying out presentations and speech to raise funds for human rights and freedom to Melbourne Language Centre students, teachers and staff members. I also wrote a letter in petition to plead for a case on the release of a separated immigrant parent and children in Australia to the former Australian Senate of South Australia, Her Excellency The Honorable, Amanda Eloise Vanstone, who is now the current Australian ambassador to Italy. I then received a personal signed reply on behalf of Senator Amanda Vanstone within a few weeks, and the granted release was made known to the public via report on the 18:00 Channel 9 news, Australia’s national TV broadcaster.
In 2005, Mr. Nguyen Tuong Van, 25, who was a classmate of an acquaintance, was punished to death by your country's law.
In 2010, Mr. Alan Shadrake, 76, was captured, for publishing a book on his views on your infamous country's law, i.e. the death penalty. Amnesty International Asia Pacific Director, Mr. Sam Zarifi, comments the following on Mr. Shadrake's case:
- “This judgement creates a chilling effect on freedom of speech, for Singaporeans and foreigners alike,”
- “Singapore’s criminal prosecution of Shadrake only underscores the country’s poor record of respect for freedom of expression,”
- “Singapore is answering criticism by jailing its critics,”
- “Alan Shadrake’s sentence is a major step backwards for freedom of expression in Singapore.”
- “By penalizing Alan Shadrake, Singapore has drawn even greater global attention to its lack of respect for freedom of expression,”
I have no relations to Mr. Yong, Mr. Nguyen, or Mr. Shadrake. I have not read Mr. Shadrake's book, and believe I have no need to because my concern is not on his views but on your country's law, none other than, the death penalty itself.
Quoting from Singabloodypore, "On 9 May, Singapore's Minister for Law, K. Shanmugam, claimed that the mandatory death penalty is a deterrent that has saved thousands of lives, according to The Straits Times. Speaking with respect to Yong's case, he said, "You save one life here, but ten other lives will be gone."
I also quote from a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
The message that I am getting from cases such as the above, is that Singapore does not know how to handle drug related crimes, other than killing the one caught with more than 15g of heroin.
I acknowledge the fact that you have a good intention in trying to warn people not to do drugs, which ruin lives. I am very proud of Singapore as a great international city and am very proud of its policemen and the army. However, don't you think this way of thinking (death penalty) resembles a terrorist's mindset? Terrorists terror people by killing those found to break their laws, in public, so that everyone in their territory will get their warning and message loud and clear on what not to do.
I understand that it is not always a pretty world and humans are always going to make mistakes until the end of time, and you are just trying to make the best decision for the majority. My heart is broken and it goes to all who are in line of death penalty wherever they are, and I am truly disappointed and upset to say that, in this case, your best is not good enough for this human race. I humbly say this to you as one human to another, that although we may be different in our roles in this society and cannot exist without the other, please do the job in your role as a government of a nation to come up with an effective and a humane solution to your problems, and please, stop killing humans.
Not everyone make good decisions in life, not all were born with equal strengths, and not all is a good contribution to the society. But everyone have the right to live, and everyone deserve to be spared and educated.
My parents always taught me that no one in the classroom will raise their hands to say that they want to be a crook, or a criminal, a thief, or a murderer, a drug addict or a sex addict when teachers ask them, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" But there will always be such people in this world.
Let us form a stronger, more intellectual society by improving citizens of the world through a higher quality of education and a higher quality of social wisdom and understanding. The amount of good people in the society cannot and should not be preserved in a stagnant way, but the amount should always be improving and moving forward in its very quality. The only way good can increase, is not by stopping evil, but by infusing and raising up intelligence, diligence and human morals, values and virtues, in the power of transforming people's lives who have been rampaged by the leaks and holes in an imperfect society that depends on an imperfect system in an imperfect world in a reality that is every so often far from being perfect, and that includes both me and you. We are never perfect, and never have been. We can only always be improving, and better than yesterday.
Isn't this how the Singapore I know and love should also be? Majulah Singapura.
Yours sincerely,
Lily Evangelene
Did you know about the story of Mr. Nguyen Tuong Van? He was only 25 years old when Singapore took his life away for trying to carry drugs into Australia, caught while transiting in Singapore.
Please, take your time to write in just as I have. Your voice will change this world.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS TO:
His Excellency SR Nathan
Office of the President
Orchard Road, Istana
Singapore 0922
Fax: 011 65 6735 3135
Email: s_r_nathan@istana.gov.sg
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister for Law:
The Honourable K Shanmugam
Ministry of Home Affairs
New Phoenix Park
28 Irrawaddy Road
Singapore 329560
Fax: 011 65 6258 0921
Email: k_shanmugam@mlaw.gov.sg
Salutation: Dear Mr Minister
AND COPIES TO:
His Excellency Yong Guan Koh
High Commissioner for Singapore
c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tanglin
Singapore 248163
Fax: 011 65 6474-7885
E-mail: yong_guan_koh@cpf.gov.sg
Editor-in-Chief
The Straits Times
1000 Toa Payoh North
News Centre
Singapore 318994
Fax: 011 65 6319 8282
Email: stonline@sph.com.sg
As you can see, I am terribly upset.
I have no more to say and all will be said in my prayers.
Life is God-given, and each has a right to live.
Let God be the judge.
Enough said.
May God have mercy on all.
I have no more to say and all will be said in my prayers.
Life is God-given, and each has a right to live.
Let God be the judge.
Enough said.
May God have mercy on all.
