[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----SING., PHILIP., MALAY., THAI.

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 8




SINGAPORE:

Lawyers from both sides of Causeway cooperate to save Malaysian citizen 
sentenced to die in Singapore


The Singapore Anti-Death Penalty activists, led by human rights advocate M 
Ravi, are collaborating with lawyers and lawmakers from across the Causeway to 
save the life of a convict currently on death row, Prabagaran A/L Srivijayan 
(Praba).

Praba (age: 29) a Malaysian citizen was arrested on 12 April 2012 when he was 
just 24 years old, for a narcotic trafficking offence. He has been on death row 
for more than 4 years since 2012, and is awaiting the result of his clemency 
petition to the Singapore President.

Writing in his Facebook Mr Ravi said that he was extremely grateful to 
prominent Malaysian Human Rights Lawyers Latheefa Koya and N Surendren (also a 
Member of Parliament in Malaysia) for agreeing to represent Prabagaran in 
Malaysia.

They are considering filing an urgent application for Judicial Review in the 
High Court in KL for a court order to compel the Malaysian government to file 
an immediate complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to save 
Prabagaran from being unlawfully executed under customary international law on 
account of breach of right to a fair trial in Singapore. Mr Ravi said that he 
also met with Malaysia???s ambassador-at large for human rights, Tan Sri Dr 
Shafee Abdullah and briefed him on his ICJ memorandum addressed to the 
Malaysian government.

The Ambassador assured Mr Ravi that he will speak to the Malaysian Minister of 
Foreign Affairs on Monday and do his level best to assist.

The Singapore Anti-Death Penalty activists allege that Praba is being deprived 
of his life in a manner that is in breach of the principles of the separation 
of powers, the fundamental rules of natural justice, and the rule of law.

"In respect of a person who has been convicted of a drug offence that is 
punishable with death under the Second Schedule of the Misuse of Drugs Act 
(MDA), Section 33B(2)(b) of the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) provides that the 
Public Prosecutor may certify that a person convicted of a drug offence 
punishable with the death penalty has substantively assisted the Central 
Narcotics Bureau (CNB) in disrupting drug activities. If the Public Prosecutor 
so certifies, and if the offender is also merely a courier, then the sentencing 
judge has the discretion to impose life imprisonment in lieu of the death 
penalty. If the Public Prosecutor does not so certify, then the sentencing 
judge must sentence the offender to the death penalty.

As discussed above, although in this case Praba has maintained his innocence, 
he has, in fact, done his best to provide CNB with credible leads that could 
well have resulted in persons involved in drug activities (i.e., Balu and 
Nathan) being apprehended."

They argue that the right to a fair trial is one of the most important 
fundamental human rights and that the death sentence imposed on Praba violates 
the right to fair trial under customary international law.

The activists said "the Public Prosecutor's determination of whether or not 
substantive assistance was provided is too fluid and unstable a standard by 
which to determine the penalty which an offender should receive."

In an earlier statement, they further strongly suggested that the matter should 
compel the Malaysian government to lodge a complaint with the International 
Court of Justice (ICJ) and urged the Malaysian government to safeguard the life 
of its own citizen who is facing impending death.

The activists also urged the Malaysian government to consider several factors 
including the irreversibility of the death penalty and make submissions to ICJ 
without delay.

"In light of the punishment's irreversibility, the very limited time available 
may not be enough for preparing submissions to the ICJ. Therefore, if a 
submission to the ICJ is to be ultimately made, that submission should ideally 
be made as soon as possible."

In speaking to this publication, the activists say that Praba is likely to be 
executed by the State in the third week of January.

(source: independent.sg)






PHILIPPINES:

Solon wants smuggling punishable by death


An administration ally wants Congress to ensure that smuggling will be included 
in the list of crimes to be punishable by death penalty.

Ako Bicol party-list Rep.Rodel Batocabe said smuggling should be considered a 
heinous crime "because it strikes against the very core of the blood and life 
of the government - taxes."

"If you smuggle, you are like a termite and a leech which sucks our coffers 
dry, deprive our poor the needed social services and kill our jobs and 
industries. For his sins against the country and ordinary Filipino, a smuggler 
deserves to die not only once but many times over," he said.

The House of Representatives is expected to open debates on the proposal to 
reinstate capital offense when session resumes this month.

Batocabe, a lawyer, said smugglers are like "vampires' who suck government 
resources and take away the opportunities and services for the people.

'He made the call after said Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman 
Martin Dino asked the National Food Authority's (NFA) to clarify if it has 
resumed granting permits for rice importation amid the discovery of an 
estimated 260,000 bags of Thai rice on board M/V MY Vuong off the Subic 
Freeport' waters (Outside Port Limits).

House Bill No. 1 filed by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez seeks to punish offenders 
convicted of drug felonies, murder, rape, robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, 
bribery, plunder, parricide, infanticide, destructive arson, piracy and treason 
with death.

It also seeks to impose capital punishment on the following: importation of 
dangerous drugs and paraphernalia; sale, trading, distribution and 
transportation of dangerous drugs; maintenance of a drug den, dive, or resort; 
manufacture of dangerous drugs; possession of dangerous drugs; cultivation or 
culture of plants classified as dangerous drugs; unlawful prescription; 
criminal liability of a public officer or employee for misappropriation, 
misapplication, or failure to account for the confiscated, seized and/or 
surrendered dangerous; criminal liability for planting evidence concerning 
illegal drugs.

There are 22 crimes that will be punishable by capital punishment under the 
measure but lawmakers have decided to lower it when the bill reaches the 
plenary.

Dino earlier said some 13,000 metric tons of white rice from Thailand covered 
by an alleged import permit (IP) issued by NFA Administrator Tomas R. Escarez 
were about to be unloaded at the Subic Freeport when discovered by SBMA 
authorities.

Dino said the SBMA has stopped the unloading of the Thai rice while it is 
trying to ensure if the import permit is genuine. He said the NFA has yet to 
respond to the SBMA's inquiry.

The alleged IP was issued December 29 last year and valid for 7 days in favor 
of Labangan Farmers First Consolidated Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MPC), Multi 
Grain MPC, Adda Latta Namnama (ALN) MPC, Magsaysay Farmers MPC, Ligaya Multi 
Purpose and Transport Services Cooperative and St. Nino Farmers MPC.

Dino said he issued an alert status on the shipment since the DA ban on rice 
importation has not been officially lifted following reports of massive rice 
smuggling in the past through falsified NFA import permits.

He said he found it strange that Labangan Farmers First Consolidated MP is 
based in Bulanit, Labanga, Zamboanga del Sur while Magsaysay Farmers MPC is 
based in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur, and yet their shipments are consigned to 
Subic in Luzon.

Multi-Grain MPC is based in Buga, San Miguel, Bulacan; Adda Latta MPC in East 
Natividad, Pangasinan; Ligaya MPC is Ligaya, Sablayan, Mindoro Occidental; and 
Sto. Nino Farmers MPC is Sto. Nino, Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.

Dino has also announced that he has held the release of deformed steel bars 
imported from China in response to the order of the Department of Trade and 
Industry (DTI) recalling a previously granted clearance for the transport of 
the materials outside the Subic warehouse.

(source: malaya.com.ph)






MALAYSIA:

'Just hang me now' - stories from death row


For many years now, the Malaysian government has toyed with the idea of 
abolishing the death penalty.

Human rights organisations say the death penalty is archaic and cruel, taking 
away the most basic of rights - the right to life.

It is a hard sell and politically caustic - an eye for an eye remains a popular 
notion, with many baying for blood of perpetrators whenever heinous crimes are 
reported in the news.

? While organisations like Amnesty International frequently campaign to save 
the lives of death row prisoners, three waiting for their turn in the execution 
room have a different wish - for the wait to end.

"If they are to hang, hang them now, because waiting is mental torture," one 
journalist recalled death row prisoners telling him, in interviews which have 
left an indelible mark.

The journalist, who chose to be named, shared this story with Humans of Kuala 
Lumpur when asked about the most memorable interview he has conducted in his 
decades-long career:

I met up with three male prisoners, one from each race. I got permission to 
interview them in one day.

The Malay guy, I don't remember his name now, had already spent 7 years in 
Kajang Prison.

I was afraid - even though he was in the cell and I was interviewing him from 
outside the cell. His offence was murder. I thought to myself, "Oh my God, he's 
a death row prisoner and he had killed someone."

The prisoner noticed how uncomfortable I was and told me, "Brother, just relax, 
because I won't harm you," and said the longer I interview him, the more I will 
like him.

'Hang me now'

He told me he was in the cell for 23 hours a day and has been living like that 
for seven years. Prisoners were only allowed out of their cell for one hour, 
and only along the passageway in front of their cells. So, if I took some of 
his time, he would feel relieved.

He told me if given the chance to either be hanged or wait further in prison, 
he would choose to be hanged. I asked, "Why? Don't you want to live??

He told me, "You can become a crazy man being inside here. You will go crazy 
because for 23 hours a day, I don't do anything, just stare at the walls in a 
10 feet by 10 feet cell space - one can go crazy".

He had tattooed his forearm (with the names of his wife and children) because 
he really loved them. He said his wife accidentally killed someone over a 
misunderstanding over a business transaction, (as) one of the items 
(transacted) were fake.

So, in the ensuing fight, she accidentally killed the other person. When he got 
back home, he said because of his love for her, he disposed of the body and 
took responsibility for the killing.

While they were both driving towards Kuala Lumpur (from Pahang), they were 
stopped at a roadblock and they were caught. In court, he admitted that he was 
the murderer. He took responsibility - this was based on the story he told me.

He said when he was convicted, his wife promised to be faithful to him, but in 
the 7 years he was in prison, not once did she come to visit him. This is why 
he tattooed his arm.

It's a really sad story if it's true. He said he was not lying, not guilty and 
has submitted himself to God.

Never got visits

The Indian man I met goes by the name of 'Lan'. He converted to Islam. He had a 
Malay girlfriend who worked in a bank, and they both come from Kuala Selangor 
in Sungai Besar.

He was a drug dealer who spent a lot of money on his girlfriend and sacrificed 
a lot for her. He even bought her a car. He sold drugs to make money and one 
day he got caught. The punishment is, of course, the death sentence.

He told me if I ever went to Sungai Besar, please find his (ex) girlfriend and 
send her his love. He said he was caught because of her, and she never visited 
him in prison.

The Chinese man, I think, was convicted of murder, but I don't remember much 
details. But all 3 men said if given the chance to be hanged immediately, they 
would take it.

2 years after the interview I spoke to Lan. I heard from one of my interns that 
he was going to be released and was going to get a pardon. On the day of his 
release, he called me and thanked me for featuring his story on television.

I don't know what happened to the other 2.

Chosen people

? For my report, I also met an ustaz who was the religious counsellor for 
Muslims before they went to their end. He retired around a decade ago.

He told me that, for the Muslims, right after they give their last salam in 
their prayers, two wardens will take them to the execution room.

Most of them are not able to walk because they know they are heading to their 
death.

The ustaz said at least they know when they will die. Because of that, 
prisoners become very religious and pray a lot.

It is unlike most of us out here. We say we are healthy and we say accidents 
happen, but we wouldn???t know when we would die.

For them, these special people, maybe they were chosen - because they know they 
are going to die. They know the exact time and location of their death when the 
prison director comes and informs them they will be hanged the next day.

So they are able to pray and focus and atone for their sins. That is the only 
advantage that they get.

The prisoners I met told me to tell those outside to learn from their mistakes. 
They admitted that they had been in the wrong, regret what they had done, and 
said that if they are to be pardoned, to pardon them now. If they are to hang, 
hang them now, because waiting is mental torture, they said.

They all could not stand the waiting in prison, as the process goes from the 
High Court to the Federal Court and then the sultan. The whole waiting process, 
it's just a lot of mental torture for them.

All 3 men have gone through the court appeals but of course they were 
unsuccessful.

I felt pity for them, especially for the husband who took the fall for his 
wife, but the drug dealer knew what he was getting himself into.

I am grateful that we have a normal life compared to them.

(source: HUMANS OF KUALA LUMPUR, a photography project by Mushamir Mustafa, 
features on Malaysiakini every weekend----malaysiakini.com)






THAILAND:

Thailand mulls death penalty for corrupt public officials


Corrupt public officials in Thailand could be staring on the death penalty 
should a proposal by the country's National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) for 
a stiffer sentence is adopted by the government.

Under the proposed sentence, which will be tabled tomorrow, public officials 
who committed graft and caused more than Baht1 billion (RM1=7.9Baht) of losses 
to the country could be sentenced to death.

"The NRSA will consider these proposal on Jan 9 (tomorrow)," said NRSA 
chairperson Thinnapan Nakata, who expected heated debate on the proposal among 
the 200-members of the assembly, to the local media today.

The proposal was made by NRSA's political reform steering committee chaired by 
Seree Suwanpanont, as part of NRSA's report on the regulation and scrutiny on 
government power.

The committee suggested that inspections on public officials should be carried 
out in the same manner as that used on politicians.

Besides the proposed death sentence on convicted public officials who caused 
more than Baht1 billion of losses, it also proposed an imprisonment for 5 years 
for those who caused not more than Baht1 million losses to the state.

For officials who inflicted losses between 1 million baht to 10 million baht to 
the state, they could face 10 years in jail and 20 years imprisonment if they 
are guilty of losses between 10 million baht to 100 million baht.

Meanwhile, a life sentence awaits public officials who are convicted of 
corruption which causes the country to suffer losses amounting between 100 
million baht to 1 billion baht, according to the proposal.

Once the proposal is adopted by the NRSA, it will be submitted to the cabinet, 
the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the Constitution Drafting Committee 
for further deliberations.

The proposal to impose the death penalty on corrupt public officials followed a 
recent proposal for a similar sentence on corrupt politicians for "selling and 
buying" political positions.

The proposal by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) under the draft 
organic law for political parties received strong opposition from the political 
parties.

CDC chairperson Meechai Ruchupan has been quoted as saying that the maximum 
death penalty was aimed at deterring corrupt people from getting involved in 
politics.

(source: malaysiakini.com)