A Malaysian man is at immediate risk of execution in Singapore. On 14 May, the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against a mandatory death sentence, which violates fair-trial rights.

Yong Vui Kong was sentenced to death in January 2009 for trafficking 47 grams of diamorphine (heroin), a crime committed when he was 19 years old.

Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act makes the death penalty mandatory for trafficking more than 30 grams of heroin, leaving judges no discretion to consider issues such as mitigating circumstances or to hand down alternative sentences. The law presumes trafficking in all cases involving the possession of over 2 grams of heroin, which shifts the burden of proving that no trafficking was involved from the prosecution to the defendant. This violates the core human right to be presumed innocent of a crime until proven guilty.

The President of Singapore rejected Yong Vui Kong's petition for clemency on 1 December 2009. On 2 December 2009, the High Court postponed Yong Vui Kong's execution (which had been set to take place on 4 December) to allow the Court of Appeal time to hear an application for a stay.

 
Vui Kong's story from Lianain Films on Vimeo.

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• Urging President Nathan to reconsider Yong Vui Kong's clemency petition and commute his death sentence;
• Calling on the president to introduce an immediate moratorium on all executions, with a view to complete abolition of the death penalty;
• Reminding Law Minister Shanmugam, that the Misuse of Drugs Act violates international human rights law and standards concerning fairness of prosecutions and trials;
• Urging the Law Minister to recommend that Parliament revoke the mandatory death penalty for drug-trafficking and all other offences.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In a 2007 drug-trafficking case, Singapore executed a young Nigerian, Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi. UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, Philip Alston, condemned the sentence on human rights grounds: "Singapore's decision to make the death penalty mandatory keeps judges from considering all of the factors relevant to determining whether a death sentence would be permissible in a capital case."

On 9 May, Singapore's Minister for Law, K. Shanmugam, claimed that the mandatory death penalty is a deterrent that has saved thousands of lives, according to The Straits Times. Speaking with respect to Yong's case, he said, "You save one life here, but ten other lives will be gone."

The authorities in Singapore do not release any information about the use of the death penalty in the country. At least one person is known to have been hanged in 2009, and at least three sentenced to death; in 2008, at least one person was hanged and five sentenced to death. The true figures are likely to be higher. The government has always maintained that the death penalty is not a human rights issue, and consistently lobbied other nations against the abolition of the death penalty.  All capital cases are tried by the High Court; convicted prisoners can appeal, and if they are unsuccessful they can apply to the president for clemency.

President Nathan, who has been in power since 1999, is not known to have granted clemency to any condemned prisoner.

Amnesty International opposes the imposition of the death penalty in all circumstances and irrespective of claims of utility. The organization considers the death penalty a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

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Your Excellency,

I am writing to express my concern about the case of Yong Vui Kong, who was arrested at the age of 19 in June 2007, charged with trafficking 42.27 grams of heroin, and sentenced to death in January 2009.

I understand that the Republic of Singapore needs to take action to prevent drug trafficking for the protection of all Singapore residents. However the conviction of Yong under the Misuse of Drugs Act concerns me. The Act provides that anyone found guilty of illegally importing, exporting or trafficking more than 15 grams of heroin will automatically receive a mandatory death sentence. According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions' 2005 report, the "mandatory death penalty, which precludes the possibility of a lesser sentence being imposed regardless of the circumstances, is inconsistent with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." In this case, the court that sentenced Yong Vui Kong to death had no discretion to sentence him to an alternative punishment. Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act violates international human rights law and standards concerning fairness of prosecutions and trials by imposing a mandatory death penalty for drug-trafficking.

There is no clear evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than other forms of punishment. In recognition of this, 139 countries have so far abolished death penalty in law or practice. Abolition is the worldwide trend, and I urge the government of Singapore to introduce a moratorium on executions, with a view to complete abolition of the death penalty.

I urge you to reconsider Yong Vui Kong’s petition for clemency and to commute his death sentence.

Yours sincerely,

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