(Singapore) The government of Singapore issued a statement confirming the death of 25-year-old Nguyen Tuong Van by hanging at Changi Prison. Nguyen's execution was the result of being convicted of trying to smuggle approximately 400 grams of heroin through Singapore Changi Airport in 2002. The death penalty is mandatory in Singapore for convicted drug traffickers. Hoping for a last-minute reprieve, Nguyen's family members and friends were at the wall of the jail when he was executed. The execution was carried out despite high-level international pleas for mitigation of Nguyen's sentence and general outrage by the Australian public. Nguyen's body is being taken to Melbourne for next week's funeral.
One could say that drug trafficking, particularly in southeast Asia, is comparable to a suicide mission. And notably, the hanging of Nguyen has focused greater attention to twelve other Austalians who face possible execution in Bali, Vietnam, and Kuwait on drug and terrorism offenses.
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