Summary
Mr.
Shanmugam Murugesu, 38, is due to be hanged on or before
the first week of May 2005. He was arrested in August
2003, at the Tuas Checkpoint, for trafficking about one
kilogram (2.2 lb) of cannabis into Singapore.
Although street activism is rare in Singapore, Mr.
Shanmugam's twin 14-year-old sons, Gopalan and Krishnan
were out at Centrepoint Shopping Centre since mid April,
handing out leaflets and pleading with passers-by to help
them appeal to President Nathan to grant their father a
pardon. With the execution of their father, they will be
left orphaned. Other family members, his parents, brother
and friends have also written to the President.
In Singapore, the presidential clemency is the final
mechanism for appeal and information about the date of
hanging is not made known even to the families of the
prisoners.
Please support the efforts of the Mr. Shanmugam's family.
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Background
The
case of Mr. Shanmugam Murugesu
Mr. Shanmugam Murugesu, a Singaporean, 38, was arrested
on the 29 August 2003 at Tuas Checkpoint (Malaysian
border). A search was conducted on his motorcycle which
was found to contain 6 packets of cannabis.
He was prosecuted for importing 1029.8 grams of cannabis
under section 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Chapter 185,
and sentenced to death after the trial at the High Court
in April 2004. His appeal against the conviction and
sentence was heard in the Court of Appeal on 26 October
2004, but was dismissed.
It is reported that he was in desperate financial
circumstances which led him to commit the offence. He had
to look after the financial needs of his twin sons, the 3
children of his divorced sister and his 60 years old
mother. Mr. Shanmugam was himself divorced.
According to Mr Shanmugam, he is remorseful about his
mistake and had cooperated fully with the police,
supplying information about the person, a Mr Mok from
Johor Baru, who had asked him to bring the drugs into
Singapore. Mr Shanmugam had even given contact details
and a sketch of Mr. Mok but the police have reportedly
not shown interest in pursuing the real culprit and the
ultimate mastermind.
Mr. Shanmugam had once served in the Singapore Armed
Forces for 8 years and in other government sectors like
the Singapore Sports Council for another 4 years. He had
also represented Singapore in international water sports
competitions like the 1995 World Championship jet ski
Finals in Lake Havasu, Arizona, USA.
Death Penalty in Singapore
Singapore is believed to have the highest per capita rate
of executions in the world. According to the UN Secretary-General's
report on capital punishment (UN document: E/CN.15/2001/10),
for the period 1994 to 1999 Singapore had a rate of 13.57
executions per one million population, representing by
far the highest rate of executions in the world. This is
followed by Saudi Arabia (4.65), Belarus (3.20), Sierra
Leone (2.84), Kyrgyzstan (2.80), Jordan (2.12) and China
(2.01). The largest overall number of executions for the
same period took place in China, followed in descending
order by the Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the
United States of America, Nigeria and Singapore.
According to an Amnesty International (AI) 2004 report on
death penalty in Singapore, the small city-state has
hanged more than 400 prisoners since 1991. Official
information about the use of the death penalty is
shrouded in secrecy and the government does not normally
publish statistics about death sentences or executions.
It is not known how many prisoners are currently on death
row, but the deplorable death toll from executions
continues.
In Singapore, information about the date of hanging is
not made known even to the families of the prisoners.
Family members are informed after the execution is
carried out and told to collect the body by noon that day.
Otherwise, the corpse would be cremated.
Drugs and the Death Penalty
Most of those executed were convicted of drug trafficking.
According to the UN 2001 report, 76% of execution from
1994 to 1999 were for drug trafficking. The Misuse of
Drugs Act provides for a mandatory death sentence for at
least 20 different drug offences, which means that trial
judges have no option but to impose a death sentence on
those who are convicted.
Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act contains several clauses
which conflict with the universally guaranteed right to
be presumed innocent until proven guilty. For instance,
any person found in possession of the key to anything
containing controlled drugs is presumed guilty of
possessing those drugs and (Section 18, Chapter 185 of
the Misuse of Drugs Act), if the amount exceeds a
specified amount, is presumed to be trafficking and faces
death if found guilty (Section 17, Chapter 185 of the
Misuse of Drugs Act).
An effective deterrent against drug abuse?
Despite the government's harsh treatment against drug
offenders, the number of drug abusers increased.
According to the website of the Singapore Central
Narcotics Bureau (CNB), a total of 3,393 drug abusers
were arrested in 2002. The number of new drug abusers
increased by 16% compared to the figures for 2001. The
CNB announced that it had seized 63 kilograms of heroin
and 34 kilograms of cannabis during 2002, and also
reported a significant increase in the use of
methamphetamine. This is despite the fact that the scope
of the death penalty was increased in 1998 to introduce a
mandatory death sentence for importing, exporting, or
trafficking in more than 250 grams of the drug.
As noted by AI, "there is always a risk that minor
traffickers or vulnerable drug addicts will be executed,
while those who mastermind the crime of trafficking evade
arrest and punishment." In the case of Mr.
Shanmugam, the alleged lack of interest to pursue the
real culprit from the police may give insight into the
situation.
Local Efforts against Death Penalty
Think Centre, a Singapore based non-governmental
organization, has called on the government to declare a
moratorium on death sentences, and urge the government to
plan for gradual abolition of the death penalty.
Particularly, there are calls to remove the mandatory
capital punishment for simple possession of drugs and to
permit judicial discretion and fairness for drug cases.
Some of the remedies they suggest are:
* No withholding of evidence in cases involving capital
punishment.
* All suspects should get a fair opportunity to examine
evidences against them, in order to review or rebut the
evidence in the process.
* Abolish the practice of using undisclosed evidence
against the suspects by the CNB and the police.
Source:
UN
Report on Capital Punishment 2001(E/CN.15/2001/10)
http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/10_commission/10e.pdf
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/legal_library/sg/legal_library_2000-12-05_2000-52.html
Amnesty International
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa360012004
Home of the Singapore Democrats
http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/news_display.php?id=712
ThinkCentre
http://www.thinkcentre.org
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