digsusting singapore

[timothyallan]

okay, i am going to play devils advocate here, NOT because i condone it or agree with it, but just to stir the shit pot a bit

If you are aware of a countries laws and punishments, and you knowingly break them and get caught. Isn't it your own fault that you tried it in the first place?

I'm not up 100% on this story, but from what I've heard from Aussies here is that he knowingly smuggled it in, and was busted. It wasn't a case of "I've been set up!" like some other cases recently.

[hambone1]

The only issue in my mind is whether or not there was 100% proof (if that's possible) that he was guilty.

If he admitted guilt, or was indeed found 100% guilty, then as harsh as it is, he played the game and lost.

[majestic]

The only person i feel for is the twin brother who has to live with the shame of all this. I hope he's changed for the better.

And the guy's Mum - I couldn't bear to lose my daughter that way.

I don't agree with capital punishment for any crime whatsoever, but that's just the law uniformly across south-east Asia: Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia etc. - in all these countries, drug importation carries the death penalty. The shit will really hit the fan when 9 Australians in Bali get the firing squad next year for importing smack, as people will start saying it's an Islamic thing.

But in fact it's just the law in this part of the world.

[timothyallan]

The really sad thing is that the people who actually smuggle the drugs think that the financial payoff is worth the risk. It's more stupid than sad really.

[Celtic]

it's insane that such barbarism can still exist in this day and age.

I'll tell you what's barbaric. Scum like him selling a filthy drug like heroin to fund an easy lifestyle. If he wants money he should earn it like the rest of us and pay in to the tax system. Not avoid paying tax by selling a life wrecking drug like heroin for cash off hopeless addicts.

I have seen first hand what heroin does to a family and it isn't pretty. Scum like him deserve no sympathy. He knew the risks and now he's paying the price.

[MrYellow]

Supply and Demand.

Demand reduction is the only answer, it's fact.
(Along with harm reduction)

However governments don't go that path because it doesn't win conservative votes.

-Ben

[Machinate]

welcome back trolley-troll-troll... 'tis been a while? What kept ya?

[OverIt//]

I know death is death and here in the states there has been a ton of coverage as we are approaching our 1000 death penalty fatality but for as messed up as it is here in the States, at least we don't still put a pllowcase over our prisoners head and then hang them off of a ledge.

[sweetjesus]

The really sad thing is that the people who actually smuggle the drugs think that the financial payoff is worth the risk. It's more stupid than sad really.

its more to do with the poverty cycle and education. i don't see too many educated and well off people stuffing condoms full of smack down their throat because they see other avenues for generating income thanks to their existing financial status or their education... and if the rich boys wanna get into the drug game, they just get some poor schmuck to do the dirty work, so for the poor its a lose lose situation.


the bali9 and nguyen are all from less than ideal family and wealth backgrounds and doing something like this to them seems like payday... a way to make a better life... im sure that in many peoples cases they see it as a risk .. between living a poor worthless life, or taking a gamble.

i dont advocate trafficking of drugs, but there's so much more governments could be doing to help the cause than to simply execute couriers.

[smutek]

The really sad thing is that the people who actually smuggle the drugs think that the financial payoff is worth the risk. It's more stupid than sad really.

Yeah. I am sure the payoff must have been pretty high, much higher than say smuggling the same amount into the states. Risk proportionate.

I'm not a supporter of the death penalty, and as much as it sucks for him, and for his family, I agree that he knew the risks that were involved. He made the decision and got caught.

I'll tell you what's barbaric. Scum like him selling a filthy drug like heroin to fund an easy lifestyle. If he wants money he should earn it like the rest of us and pay in to the tax system. Not avoid paying tax by selling a life wrecking drug like heroin for cash off hopeless addicts.

Nah, I disagree. Like Yellow said, supply and demand. The demand will always be there and will never go away. People are always going to get high and people will always supply that demand. And selling drugs certainly isn't an "easy life" as you may believe. You know what the life expectancy of drug dealer is? It's an entirely different world.

Also, I don't think people sell drugs to avoid paying taxes, besides, how would one go about declaring that income? People sell drugs for a number of reasons, but primarilly because of the huge profits involved.

And addicts aren't helpless and they certainly are not victims. Maybe victims of policy, but not victims of drug dealers. Addicts get high because they want to - yes at some point they get high because they need to, but there is always a choice. I'm a recovering heroin addict, I know.

I thik the real problem is the policies. I think all of this shit should be legal, controlled, but legal. If people want to smoke opium, or shoot dope, let them. Why should they be put in jail. I don't blame the dealers either I blame the policies. the policies create the criminal aspect and all of the violence associated. legalize it, legalize it all. Then we can charge them taxes. legalize and educate I say, not criminalize and propogandize.

"It's the stick of law enforcement that creates the carrot of huge profit that is economic truth."

[MrYellow]

Some here might know more about this then me......

Sweden setup a park in some city as a shooting zone. People flocked to it
and within a couple of weeks it became a massive problem with thousands
of whacked people laying in their own crap all over the place. Something
had to be done.

They created back alley shooting rooms with free government supplied
medical grade heroin. The difference was massive.

People that used to spend all their time stealing to get "junk" could now go
to work and start pulling their life back together. Because of the medical
grade quality the addiction was less "junkie", and based off mixed
substances, while the shooting in a controlled situation gave great
opportunity for treatment.

Seeing that only addicts could get access there was a supply reduction as
dealers no longer had a market. Thus new "recruits" became less and
overall addict numbers dropped. Those remaining were getting out of it,
and the world became a better place.

Free medical grade heroin for addicts was a real solution.
Try to get that in the US tho

-Ben

[Former Pharaoh]

Bottom line, these strict laws imposed to those who are involved with drug trafficking are simply to keep the profit sharing to a bare minimum. That bare minimum is the government not just overseas but here in the U.S. as well.
It's a monopoly and it'll stay that way.
People like Freeway Rick etc. are just pawns who get the ugly end of the stick while the pupeteers make most of the profits.

[Anubis]

I don't agree with capital punishment for any crime whatsoever, but that's just the law uniformly across south-east Asia: Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia etc. - in all these countries, drug importation carries the death penalty.

The thing that's sickening about this is that these same governments are corrupt to the hilt and deal in all sorts of illicit activity under the table. I'm sure that behind the scenes they're prolly profiting from the drug trade, sex trade, etc. The only common denominator to all these (superficial) morally-correct governments is that they place very little value on human life.

[forge]

...... the world became a better place.

Free medical grade heroin for addicts was a real solution.
Try to get that in the US tho

-Ben

totally agree - the only solution to drugs is to have the government/society take back control of it. Like in the prohibition of alcohol years in the 20s, all that happened was gangsters got really rich and powerful. When it's underground the crime world gets a really good source of big tax free income.

As for the singapore thing, on the landing cards going into singapore on the plane have in VERY LARGE RED LETTERS "THE PENALTY IN SINGAPORE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING IS DEATH" - SO big and bold it filled me full of terror in case Schapelle Corby's baggage handlers had got to my suitcase!!

I'm sorry but I really dont understand why there is so much sympathy pouring about for this case, I dont know the details, but it looks on the face of it that this was a real drug trafficking incident, not a dubious one like schapell corby.

It is very well known the penalities in that region...god, my first memories of it are as a young child in the 80s when Barlow and Chambers got hanged in malaysia..That's how long I've known about the death penalty for drugs in asia.

Seriously, he took his chance and got caught. If it was a fair cop then it's his own stupid fault, and I dare say by the admission about "did it to help brother.." or whatever, then that's as good as a confession.

What I REALLY dont get is that people are actually talking about boycotting singapore over it??????

How bizarre...jesus there are alot worse off people copping far worse injustices at the hands of the industrial giants, if we want to boycott unjust places, start with the USA and CHina the 2 biggest economies.....count how many chinese made things in your house and try boycotting them for what they are doing in Tibet etc etc etc.....man, we're talknig about executing a HEROIN TRAFFICKER, some of these chinese policies in tibet are resulting in brutal, nearly full term abortions of unwilling women who now have to live under the one child policy - and that is just to begin with.....

my 2c..

and Overit// - Singapore is far from 3rd world, not everywhere outside America or europe is 3rd world....

[sweetjesus]

...... the world became a better place.

Free medical grade heroin for addicts was a real solution.
Try to get that in the US tho

-Ben

totally agree - the only solution to drugs is to have the government/society take back control of it. Like in the prohibition of alcohol years in the 20s, all that happened was gangsters got really rich and powerful. When it's underground the crime world gets a really good source of big tax free income.

As for the singapore thing, on the landing cards going into singapore on the plane have in VERY LARGE RED LETTERS "THE PENALTY IN SINGAPORE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING IS DEATH" - SO big and bold it filled me full of terror in case Schapelle Corby's baggage handlers had got to my suitcase!!

I'm sorry but I really dont understand why there is so much sympathy pouring about for this case, I dont know the details, but it looks on the face of it that this was a real drug trafficking incident, not a dubious one like schapell corby.

It is very well known the penalities in that region...god, my first memories of it are as a young child in the 80s when Barlow and Chambers got hanged in malaysia..That's how long I've known about the death penalty for drugs in asia.

Seriously, he took his chance and got caught. If it was a fair cop then it's his own stupid fault, and I dare say by the admission about "did it to help brother.." or whatever, then that's as good as a confession.

What I REALLY dont get is that people are actually talking about boycotting singapore over it??????

How bizarre...jesus there are alot worse off people copping far worse injustices at the hands of the industrial giants, if we want to boycott unjust places, start with the USA and CHina the 2 biggest economies.....count how many chinese made things in your house and try boycotting them for what they are doing in Tibet etc etc etc.....man, we're talknig about executing a HEROIN TRAFFICKER, some of these chinese policies in tibet are resulting in brutal, nearly full term abortions of unwilling women who now have to live under the one child policy - and that is just to begin with.....

my 2c..

and Overit// - Singapore is far from 3rd world, not everywhere outside America or europe is 3rd world....

i agree that theres other places that should be looked at in a negative light, however im sure that the chinese, even with their human rights records would still allow a mother to hug her son before he was executed.