The Useless Tree

Singapore: A Final Inhumanity

    The Singaporean government  says that it will allow convicted  drug runner Nguyen Tuong Van’s mother and brother to hold his hand before his death sentence, by hanging, is carried out today (I will not link to the Straits Times headline on this because they require subscription).  What are we to make of this?  Does the S’pore government think that this will be seen as a symbol of their humanity?  Do they think they are being merciful?  All this does is remind us how inhumane the Singaporean death penalty policy really is.  And it is the wrong way to govern:

    Asking Confucius about governing , Lord Chi K’ang said: "What if I secure those who abide in Way by killing those who ignore Way – will that work?"
   "How can you govern by killing? replied Confucius.  "Just set your heart on what is virtuous and benevolent, and the people will be virtuous and benevolent.  The noble-minded have the Integrity of wind, and little people the Integrity of grass.  When the wind sweeps over grass, it bends."

     You cannot govern by killing.  Perhaps what all this shows is just how much the PAP lacks virtue and benevolence.

     And what will Van’s brother take away from witnessing the hanging?

Mencius said: "Only now have I realized the true gravity of killing a man’s family members.  If you kill his father, he’ll kill your father.  If you kill his brother, he’ll kill your brother.  There’s precious little difference between that and killing your father or brother with your own hands. (259)

     Hatred and the desire for retribution is all that is accomplished.

 

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Sam Crane
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2 responses to “Singapore: A Final Inhumanity”

  1. Bewildered Academic Avatar
    Bewildered Academic

    It sickens me to hear that they would not even let his parents hug him before they send him off. Reminds me of the Chinese practice of executing a prisoner and then charging the family for the cost of the bullet.
    As for your comment from Mencius, this incident will likely not only spark a desire for retribution from Van’s family but also from much of Australia as well. Even setting aside the issue of virtue and heartlessness and looking at it from a purely political standpoint, Lee Hsien Long is foolish to ignore international public opinion over a fiasco like this.
    In my view, the death penalty is never necessary. Not only is it morally reprehensible and barbaric in a civilized society but it serves no useful function. There was once a time when correctional systems were meant for just that, correction and rehabilitation. Nowadays we treat prisoners like cattle and don’t even try to mask our intention to forget about them. What social purpose will death for a poor drug mule serve other than to say, “Live in constant fear of us. We are out to get you, no matter who you are”? What is his threat to society? What incentive do people now have to attempt to rehabilitate themselves if they have been caught?
    If Singapore believes that this execution is an expression of “Asian values” and the superiority of “pristine” Asian civilization over “corrupt” Western civilization, then I am ashamed to call myself an Asian today.

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  2. Bewildered Academic Avatar
    Bewildered Academic

    More evidence of the machine-like nature of the Singaporean government: From “The Advertiser”
    “The decision to allow hand contact, when it is prohibited under prison regulations, was viewed by many in Singapore as a diplomatic face-saver.
    “Approval came in a Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.
    “‘Such encounters can be traumatic and are likely to destabilise the prisoners and their family members,’ it said.”
    And what of the execution itself? Is that not traumatic enough? God, it makes me ill…

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