Singapore Government: Death Penalty plays a role in weeding out drugs

In a book, Slaying The Dragon published by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2006, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng said: "No drugs, zero tolerance - period. And those who ignore this will pay a heavy price. It doesn't matter who the person is - local, forigner, high level or otherwise, Every drug abuser will be treated the same way."

A case was cited in the book regarding an Australian, Nguyen Tuong Van, who was hanged after he was arrested for drug trafficking with almost 400 g of pure heroin at Changi Airport in 2005.
Nguyen, who was smuggling drugs to Australia, was in Singapore to make a flight transfer.

The government came underfire and the decision drew criticism from Australians and there were also calls for abloishing the death penalty for drug traffickers. The execution went ahead amid voices who denounced the Singaore's death penalty for traffickers as "barbaric".

"If we are soft-kneed because others pressure us, we cannot survive a sovereign nation. The death penalty played a role in weeding out drugs. Just look at the number of syndicate leaders in Singaopre. The number has gone down because of the tough measures that we have taken. And the message is clear not just to Singaporeans, but to all those traffickers who want to use Singaporea as a transit point. The argument, that "I am not bringing drugs to Singapore and therefore I am not killing Singaporeans," cannot be accepted. If traffickers are bringing drugs to other countries and killing their citizens, as a responsible member of the international community, Singapore will have to do something."

Responding to calls for abolishing the death penalty, Ministor Wong said: "No country has the right to telll another country what law they should have, or whether it is harsh or not. Every country has its own system, and again, the social context of every country is different, The societal attitutde and the level o acceptance of their penal regime are also different."