MM Lee and PM Lee,
Please consider this young man's life. Consider that he has been so cooperative after being arrested. His crime is not that bad to warrant the death penalty but let him have life imprisonment instead and use him to remind would be smugglers.
they(singapore) don't believe in god, they don't believe in western values, they do believe in making lots of money. this guy doesn't deserve special treatment. all 300++ drug dealers deserved to live. i wonder how many people will turn off once he's dead next friday?
what they are doing in malaysia,indonesia is terrible. i for one will not have anything to do with these countries, unfortunately my name's not david beckham!
Death sentence is served for the one who takes some one life away, Van just did a wrong thing toward his country, not to Singapor gorverment, I strongly believe Van did not deserved that deadly purnish, please be fair to jugde his mistake.
I'd like to suggest an idea that Australians distressed about the fate
of Nguyen Tuong Van might take up if it was promoted by people such as
yourself.
In the case Nguyen Tuong Van is actually hanged I think it would be a
great way to show support to his family and loved ones, as well as send
a compelling visual message to Singapore, if concerned Australians
stopped work or whatever they were doing at home or elsewhere a few
minutes before the appointed time, went outside into the street where
they can be together in solidarity and stand heads bowed for a few
moments.
The TV news programs all over the nation could film this and the
resulting image collage would be a powerful message both to his family
and Singapore.
It's an odd idea I agree but I think a good one if promoted and taken
up.
regards
Alan Bamford
don't go to singapore, the people there are boring half humans. i feel very sad that van was so stupid!
these ****s wouldn't even apologise if they executed the wron person.
it's all in the name of 'the war on drugs'.
and i wonder, how the people of Indonesia can stand their country, their court system, everything that it represents and demonstrates in the decision of Mr Nguyen.
Dear Sirs,
I understand your zeal to protect your population against drug abuse. However, hanging couriers has not stopped traffic and never will. The onus should be placed on drug users. Without customers there would be no peddlers.
Nguyen Tuong Van has no previous crime records. There are mitigating circumstances in this case, which are well known. What I find strange, though, is that no one points out to the fact that Van was not actually trying to smuggle drugs into Singapore. He was just a transit passenger in a Singaporean airport. I expect the Singaporean population and government understand that a lot of people (I am included) will avoid stop overs in Singapore, let alone actually visiting the country. There are no guarantees that drug won't be pushed into a traveller's luggage (after all, travellers are not in control of their suitcases over the whole trip), Under these circumstances I would not risk jail or the gallows simply for wishing to travel. Please, reconsider this case, of not for its own merits, at least for Singapore's turism industry.
Who gives a person the right to take another person's life? I cannot believe that in such an advanced country such as Singapore, there still exists such inhumane acts. Not only does my heart pour out to Nguyen and his family, but also, anger and disgust towards the Singaporean government!
Judicial slaying is the ultimate human rights violation.
This young man is contrite, remorseful and sounds as if he would make a very worthwhile member of society.
I hope that Van's case will be the one where Singapore and Australia reconsider the acceptability of taking someone's life. As a consequence I hope his life is spared.
Van committed a grave and silly act. However, as the wife of a schoolmate of Van's, I know he only acted out of despeartion to save his very close twin brother and is against the use of drugs. He was a gentle and compassionate friend. All accounts i have read of him in the newspapers bring tears to my eyes as they indicate a young man who puts his own cares after his loved ones. To murder this man is to devalue all human life and our ability to learn.
Having had a close friend die of a herion overdose, I know that this murder will not prevent more people from trying drugs nor from dying of them.
It is a sin to kill a mockingbird.
The death penalty in this case is utterly disproportioate to the cime committed and it's implementation an outrage by any standard – save that of Singapore.
I hope and pray that Sigapore government think twice before their act. Life is not after a life. Let God alone judges his own creation. Nguyen Tuong Van is not deserved a death. The future is only better if we love each other.
It seems that anything to do with illicit drugs makes governments hysterical, despite the fact that humans have taken drugs throughout history! While government ministers sip on their Singapore slings - they make a decision, based on a set of arbitrary assumptions that no one can really remember, that some drugs are wrong and some are right. Van must not die!!!
All Australian should use whatever means they have to pressure Singapore to commute his sentence and I'll be using economic pressure by never again negotiating commercial arrangements with Singapore businesses, partners or representatives
Van and his family will have to forgive the justice system which has failed to forgive him. I would ask the Singapore Government to please reconsider their decision in this light. Van is not going to reoffend but sadly his death will not deter other desperate people from risking their lives in the future. What purpose will execution serve? Please spare this young man's life.
Dear Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
I think you to grant clemency to the young Australian, Van Tuong Nguyen, currently on death row in Singapore. He has co-operated fully with authorities, is remorseful for his actions, and was acting not out of greed but filial regard for his brother, himself in a desperate situation. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration,
Emma Carberry
Hanging Van Nguyen is state-sanctioned murder. I call on all Australians to boycott Singaporean products imported into our country like Optus and TXU...
The death penalty is an abhorrent, repressive, punishment that defies the philosophy of enlightened civilisations. It far outweighs the crime comitted, and in this case the punishment is the true obsenity.
Dear Van,I am a mother with 3 boys.You have my strongest support and I am doing all I can think of to save you. I have contacted the Singapore Government through Amnesty International. I want you to know that I am thinking of you and your family. I am very unhappy with the attitude of the Austalian Govt and keep hoping that with such strong support we are to assist you. "Never give up - no matter what is going on, never give up. HH the Dalai Lama". Van,I sincerely hope that these few words will bring you comfort at this time. You are always in my thoughts.
With Kindest Regards
Margaret Chambers-Law (Tasmania, Australia)
The Singaporean government will have committed a greater crime by murering Van that that which he committed. I will bocott Singapore and all it's products until they realise that mandatory murder is evil and cannot be tolerated. Van deserves clemency for many reasons allowed by the Singaporean constitution. It is the government that should be looking at the gallows, not Van. They have no right to take away his life, and destroy his families lives. I don't know how they can sleep at night. A jail term would be more than adequate for this crime. Van has so much to offer to society - including helping to speak to young people about the dangers of drugs - he can do that from prison.
Please grant clemency to Van. Killing him would be an act of barbarism a thousand times worse than the crime he committed. Don't make one man pay for the whole drug trade.
Nguyen Tuong Van admitted his guilt and tried to help authorities with their investigations. He has never committed a crime before. As a citizen of the United States of America, I urge you to spare the life of this man. It's the right thing to do!
I'll go along with this because of my abhorence of the death penalty, but what about a similar campaign to provide justice to a guy imprisoned without trial for the last three years by our protectors from across the Pacific where the death penalty flourishes in a majority of States?
I appeal to the compassion of Singapore government. Van is just a low mule in the drug trade, his death serves no purpose and as always the major drug dealers are free. This man just made a mistake out of a sense of duty to his brother.
