The Singapore Citizen has commented on my previous article “How is life valued in Court ?” , disagreeing with some points, agreeing with others, and making good suggestions. Here is a reproduction of my reply to their article, in which I present new information, which I beg everyone to read, because these victims have almost no one in Singapore speaking up for them, whether in the mainstream or alternative media.
Dear Singapore Citizen,
Thank you for considering these cases and highlighting them on your blog. I’m very honored that you chose to comment on my thoughts.
I agree with you when you say that perhaps the law should be reviewed to allow judges more freedom in sentencing drug trafficking cases, rather than making the death sentence mandatory, so that various mitigating factors can be taken into consideration. You are certainly not cruel nor inhumane; your sympathy towards the youth and his ill mother is very heartening and commendable. I also agree with you that laws cannot be changed arbitrarily. Perhaps in this case appealing to the President’s clemency might help.
There are 2 other issues, however, which I beg you to consider, after which I would be curious to know if you would still maintain your stand.
Firstly, drug kingpins would not take MORE advantage of naïve youths to be drug runners, if the death penalty (whether mandatory or not ) was removed. On the contrary, the fact that it carries such a harsh sentence would mean that only the most naïve/ stupid or the most DESPERATE people would be willing to be exploited by the kingpins at the risk of death. By punishing the drug runners, we are punishing them for their stupidity and their desperate circumstances. The kingpins who intend to profit from the drug sale, which you rightly pointed out does much harm to society, would be protected (as the Straits Times pointed out, the mastermind remains unknown). I would agree with the government’s view that the mandatory death sentence serves as a good deterrent, but I’m sure you’ll agree that laws are meant to also serve justice, and punishment proportionate to the crime is an important aspect of punishment.
Secondly, and this is the more important issue, which I hope EVERYONE reading this would think about.
I refer to your statements “Comparison with human trafficking is not apt in this case, in my opinion. This is because the goods smuggled are inherently different.” and “prostitution is a different social ill, and quite different from drugs in its effects of harming society”
The greatest wrong done with human trafficking, is that HUMANs are treated as GOODS.
This was why slavery was wrong, and why slavery was outlawed. The reason why the 36 year old pimp should be punished, is NOT because of the social ill that the prostitute would bring about. The reason why he should be punished, is because of the wrong done to the HUMAN VICTIM being trafficked, and treated like a piece of goods devoid of human rights. This is unlike drug trafficking where the traffickers are punished for the ills the goods bring about. And this is also why, giving him a sentence of one year is as great an injustice as hanging a drug runner who was stupid and desperate, in my view.
Having said that, I do acknowledge that the 36 year old was not charged with human trafficking, but with arranging for paid sex between a minor (below 18) and an adult.
I’m speculating that’s because Singapore officially does not acknowledge that human trafficking is a problem here. A few of our neighboring countries differ from Singapore’s view however, because they have documented a significant number of trafficking cases involving their citizens. Singapore does not have a law specific to anti-trafficking; it uses other laws depending on the nature of the case. ( http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/singapore) (Note: Singapore officially is not in full agreement with several reports listed here)
Trafficking is not restricted to cases where the trafficked victim is being kidnapped. It encompasses cases where “threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim” is involved for the purposes of “exploitation, which includes exploiting the prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs” (http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html)
Many developed countries are receiving ends for human trafficking networks, and many developed countries acknowledge this problem and are taking steps to deal with it. It occurs especially when there is access for people moving from less developed nations to more developed nations. Singapore is in this situation where we, as a developed country, are surrounded by less developed countries, whose citizens can come in here fairly easily. The Council of Europe states that “people trafficking has reached epidemic proportions over the past decade, with a global annual market of about $42.5 billion.” Trafficking victims typically are recruited using coercion, deception, fraud, the abuse of power, or outright abduction. Threats, violence, and economic leverage such as debt bondage can often make a victim consent to exploitation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking )
In closing, I once again to beg you, and all readers, to reconsider your position of considering human trafficking a crime less severe than drug trafficking. I also hope, and encourage you to research more on human trafficking, and feature the information on your well-read blog. It is true, most trafficking cases in Singapore involve foreigners. But foreigners are human too, inherently deserving of human rights. We need to accord these foreigners human rights and justice, which is theirs, because the responsibility to bring an end to crime taking place on our soil, is ours.
Human Trafficking – an ignored injustice in Singapore
The Singapore Citizen has commented on my previous article “How is life valued in Court ?” , disagreeing with some points, agreeing with others, and making good suggestions. Here is a reproduction of my reply to their article, in which I present new information, which I beg everyone to read, because these victims have almost no one in Singapore speaking up for them, whether in the mainstream or alternative media.
Dear Singapore Citizen,
Thank you for considering these cases and highlighting them on your blog. I’m very honored that you chose to comment on my thoughts.
I agree with you when you say that perhaps the law should be reviewed to allow judges more freedom in sentencing drug trafficking cases, rather than making the death sentence mandatory, so that various mitigating factors can be taken into consideration. You are certainly not cruel nor inhumane; your sympathy towards the youth and his ill mother is very heartening and commendable. I also agree with you that laws cannot be changed arbitrarily. Perhaps in this case appealing to the President’s clemency might help.
There are 2 other issues, however, which I beg you to consider, after which I would be curious to know if you would still maintain your stand.
Firstly, drug kingpins would not take MORE advantage of naïve youths to be drug runners, if the death penalty (whether mandatory or not ) was removed. On the contrary, the fact that it carries such a harsh sentence would mean that only the most naïve/ stupid or the most DESPERATE people would be willing to be exploited by the kingpins at the risk of death. By punishing the drug runners, we are punishing them for their stupidity and their desperate circumstances. The kingpins who intend to profit from the drug sale, which you rightly pointed out does much harm to society, would be protected (as the Straits Times pointed out, the mastermind remains unknown). I would agree with the government’s view that the mandatory death sentence serves as a good deterrent, but I’m sure you’ll agree that laws are meant to also serve justice, and punishment proportionate to the crime is an important aspect of punishment.
Secondly, and this is the more important issue, which I hope EVERYONE reading this would think about.
I refer to your statements “Comparison with human trafficking is not apt in this case, in my opinion. This is because the goods smuggled are inherently different.” and “prostitution is a different social ill, and quite different from drugs in its effects of harming society”
The greatest wrong done with human trafficking, is that HUMANs are treated as GOODS.
This was why slavery was wrong, and why slavery was outlawed. The reason why the 36 year old pimp should be punished, is NOT because of the social ill that the prostitute would bring about. The reason why he should be punished, is because of the wrong done to the HUMAN VICTIM being trafficked, and treated like a piece of goods devoid of human rights. This is unlike drug trafficking where the traffickers are punished for the ills the goods bring about. And this is also why, giving him a sentence of one year is as great an injustice as hanging a drug runner who was stupid and desperate, in my view.
Having said that, I do acknowledge that the 36 year old was not charged with human trafficking, but with arranging for paid sex between a minor (below 18) and an adult.
I’m speculating that’s because Singapore officially does not acknowledge that human trafficking is a problem here. A few of our neighboring countries differ from Singapore’s view however, because they have documented a significant number of trafficking cases involving their citizens. Singapore does not have a law specific to anti-trafficking; it uses other laws depending on the nature of the case. ( http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/singapore) (Note: Singapore officially is not in full agreement with several reports listed here)
Trafficking is not restricted to cases where the trafficked victim is being kidnapped. It encompasses cases where “threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim” is involved for the purposes of “exploitation, which includes exploiting the prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs” (http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html)
Many developed countries are receiving ends for human trafficking networks, and many developed countries acknowledge this problem and are taking steps to deal with it. It occurs especially when there is access for people moving from less developed nations to more developed nations. Singapore is in this situation where we, as a developed country, are surrounded by less developed countries, whose citizens can come in here fairly easily. The Council of Europe states that “people trafficking has reached epidemic proportions over the past decade, with a global annual market of about $42.5 billion.” Trafficking victims typically are recruited using coercion, deception, fraud, the abuse of power, or outright abduction. Threats, violence, and economic leverage such as debt bondage can often make a victim consent to exploitation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking )
In closing, I once again to beg you, and all readers, to reconsider your position of considering human trafficking a crime less severe than drug trafficking. I also hope, and encourage you to research more on human trafficking, and feature the information on your well-read blog. It is true, most trafficking cases in Singapore involve foreigners. But foreigners are human too, inherently deserving of human rights. We need to accord these foreigners human rights and justice, which is theirs, because the responsibility to bring an end to crime taking place on our soil, is ours.