May 28
SINGAPORE:
Urgent action required for Kho Jabing
The Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign (SADPC) and We Believe in Second
Chances strongly urge the Cabinet to advise the President, Mr Tony Tan, to
grant clemency to death row inmate, Kho Jabing.
Sarawakian Kho Jabing, now 31, was convicted of murder under section 300(c) of
the Penal Code on 24 May 2011, which carried the mandatory death sentence at
the time of conviction. In 2012, Parliament amended the Penal Code to give
judges the discretion to sentence offenders convicted under s 300(c) to life
imprisonment with caning. This change was applied retrospectively and Kho was
afforded an opportunity to have his death sentence reconsidered.
On 18 November 2013, Justice Tay Yong Kwang re-sentenced Kho to life
imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane. On 14 January 2015, the Court of
Appeal, by a majority decision (with 2 out of the 5 judges dissenting)
overturned Justice Tay's decision and sentenced Kho to death.
We wish to highlight 2 issues with Kho's death sentence.
First, the dissent by the 2 judges should be taken as indication that
reasonable doubt exists over whether Jabing should be sentenced to death.
Indeed, both Justice Woo Bih Li and Justice Lee Seiu Kin reasoned that there
was "reasonable doubt whether Jabing's blows were all inflicted when the
deceased was laying on the ground" which made it "unsafe to conclude beyond
reasonable doubt that he (Jabing) acted in away which exhibited a blatant
disregard for human life".
Second, Jabing did not posses the intention to kill, nor was the murder
premeditated. This was a robbery gone wrong. The death penalty, if it is to be
applied at all, should be reserved for the most exceptional cases. In light of
the above, we urge the Cabinet take into consideration these facts in advising
the President and reiterate our call for a clemency pardon.
Kho's family delivered their clemency petition to the President on 27 May 2015.
In their personal letters, they expressed their deep regrets to the family and
loved ones of the victim, and pleaded with the President to extend compassion
towards Kho and spare his life.
(source: Rachel Zeng, Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign (SADPC) & Damien
Chng, We Believe in Second Chances)
FINLAND:
Finland's incoming justice minister says he approves of death penalty for major
crimes
Finland's incoming justice minister from the populist Finns Party says he
approves of the death penalty in "some circumstances."
Jari Lindstrom was expressing his personal opinion and not speaking on behalf
of the incoming government. He said Thursday that capital punishment could be
acceptable for "extremely heavy crimes, such as against small children."
The 49-year-old lawmaker says the death penalty wasn't "one of the main issues"
on his agenda when he is due to take up his ministerial post on Friday.
The death penalty, banned in Finland in 1949, has been abolished in all EU
countries.
Lindstrom is 1 of 4 new ministers from the EU-skeptic Finns Party, which is in
a ruling coalition for the 1st time.
(source: Associated Press)
VIETNAM:
Death penalty still needed to punish corrupt officials, lawmakers say
Many lawmakers have objected to the government's plan to let convicts escape
death penalties by returning 1/2 of the money or property they gained from
their offenses.
According to the proposal, part of a series of amendments drafted for Vietnam's
Penal Code, the rule should be applied to people who do not commit "extremely
serious" crimes, without specifying which ones.
Lawmakers interpreted the proposal as a way out for corruption convicts,
arguing that they will be the main beneficiary and that the rule, if passed,
will cause injustice.
Nguyen Duc Chung, an assemblyman from Hanoi, said at a meeting on Tuesday it is
"unfair" that corrupt officials who steal a huge amount of public money can
live, while while poor people who deal drugs have to accept death sentences
because they have no money to pay.
The death penalty needs to remain as the highest punishment for corruption
crimes, or laws will lose their deterrence effect, he said.
Huynh Ngoc Anh from Ho Chi Minh City agreed, saying that it is "not right" to
make light of a crime which Vietnam has been fighting but not managed to stop
yet.
No concession
7 crimes have been proposed to be removed from Vietnam's death penalty list.
They are robbery, vandalizing equipment and works significant to national
security, gross disturbances of public order, surrendering to enemy forces,
acts of sabotage and waging invasive wars, crimes against humanity, and drug
smuggling.
However, Le Dong Phong, another assemblyman from HCMC, said some of these
including war crimes rarely happen, but in many countries around the world they
are still punishable by death to prevent them effectively.
He also opposed a proposed rule that would reduce the highest punishment for
drug mules to life sentence, arguing that not all of the convicts are poor
people who desperately earn their living by smuggling drugs.
Instead, the government may consider increasing the amount of involved drugs
that justifies a death sentence, Phong suggested.
Under Vietnam's current drug laws, which are considered among the toughest in
the world, anyone convicted of smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or more
than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine faces death.
The government is also seeking to eliminate the death penalty for criminals
aged 70 and above. Currently only pregnant women and women who are raising
children under 3 years old are eligible for the concession.
(source: Thanh Nien News)
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