Kill or be killed

The whole issue of death penalty has been a topic of discussion these past few weeks here in Australia. This morning, a convicted drug trafficker from Melbourne by the name of Nguyen Tuong Van was sent to the gallows in Singapore's Changi Prison for possession of 400 grams of heroin. Nguyen had been imprisoned for three years in the said prison before a ruling was finally made around a month ago.

People were divided almost equally with regards to death penalty being a harsh punishment for drug traffickers. Bear in mind that Australia does not have capital punishment whilst most Asian countries do. I believe that other than Singapore, Malaysia also uses the medieval method of hanging.

I personally believe that drug traffickers rank up there with murderers and rapists. They may not kill people immediately, but they do contribute in a person's destruction of oneself - their family, their friends, and their lives. People who sell drugs do not have a social conscience. They do not care about whom they sell these drugs to just as long as they get the right amount of money for it. In Nguyen's case, he decided to traffic drugs to help out his twin brother in paying off debts that were also drug related. His twin brother was a heroin addict.

Tsk. Did he honestly think that getting into the drug trade will solve his brother's problems that involved drugs in the first place?

Nguyen was 25 years old. His life was cut short unfortunately because of a very stupid mistakes, albeit with the best intentions at heart. This may sound callous but he got what he deserved. He was intending to supply drugs, he knew what the consequences were, and he still went for it.

The only person I feel sorry for is her mother, who honestly still thinks this was her fault.

Poor lady.

So, is capital punishment a good thing or a bad thing? My only answer is this: there is a reason why Singapore is what it is today. Crime lords would always think twice before they do anything there. They know for a fact that if they were caught, they will never get away lightly.

I personally think Australia should do something to be harder on drug convictions and the like. The last thing I want is for this country to be laden with junkies all over the place... tsk, tsk.