Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here. The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.
Drug trafficker escapes death sentence under amended Misuse of Drugs Act
A man has escaped the death sentence for drug trafficking as he satisfied the twin requirements for the discretionary death sentence.
A boat sails past Parliament House (R) and the Supreme Court (L) along the river in Singapore. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
SINGAPORE: A 29-year-old man has escaped the gallows for drug trafficking as he satisfied the twin requirements for the discretionary death sentence, in the first capital case prosecuted under the amended Misuse of Drugs Act which came into effect in January.
His co-accused, 27-year-old Muhammad Ridzuan Md Ali, who was convicted of the same charges, was sentenced to death as he did not fulfil the requirements.
Abdul Haleem Abdul Karim was convicted of trafficking in a Class 'A' controlled drug - which carries the mandatory death penalty - and possessing drugs for the purposes of trafficking.
However, Justice Tay Yong Kwang ruled that Abdul Haleem satisfied the condition of having only played the role of courier, and the condition of providing "substantive assistance". Justice Tay eventually sentenced him to life imprisonment and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane.
Abdul Haleem has been issued with a Certificate of Cooperation by Attorney-General Steven Chong stating that he had "substantively assisted CNB in disrupting drug trafficking activities" within Singapore.
An Attorney-General Chambers spokesperson said: "As DPM (Deputy Prime Minister) Teo highlighted in Parliament, the certificate mechanism was developed with a view to assisting in Singapore's broader enforcement efforts and to keep drugs out of Singapore.
“The information provided may assist to dismantle drug syndicates or facilitate the arrest or prosecution of syndicate members, particularly members higher up in such syndicates."
The spokesperson added that there are ongoing cases involving offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act before the court for which the certificate "may be relevant".
"Whether a certificate would be issued will be assessed on the facts of each case and whether the individual concerned has 'substantively assisted' in disrupting drug trafficking activities in Singapore or elsewhere," the spokesperson said.
The Misuse of Drugs Act was amended in 2012 together with the Penal Code to remove the mandatory death penalty for certain types of homicide and drug trafficking offences, in a move to "temper justice with mercy".
Apart from meeting the condition of being only a courier, a drug trafficker must either have cooperated with the Central Narcotics Bureau in a substantive way, or have a mental disability which substantially impairs his appreciation of the gravity of the act.
Abdul Haleem and Muhammad Ridzuan were arrested on May 6 2010, and were charged with having not less than 72.50 grams of diamorphine in possession for the purpose of trafficking and having in possession for the purposes of trafficking no more than 14.99 grams of diamorphine.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Shahla Iqbal noted that Abdul Haleem "took a consistent stance" as set out in his statements and under cross-examinations, and was "observed to be a truthful and straightforward witness".
Drug courier in S’pore escapes death penalty after reforms
by AFP
inSing - 11 April 2013 6:52 PM | Updated 7:09 PM
A file photo by Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau showing a seizure of heroin in Singapore in 2011. Singaporean Abdul Haleem Abdul Karim was spared the death penalty after being arrested in 2010 for drug trafficking. His friend Muhammad Ridzuan Muhammad Ali was not and will face death row (Photo: AFP / Singapore Central Narcotics Bureau)
(SINGAPORE) A heroin courier has become the first convicted drug trafficker in Singapore to avoid a death sentence following reforms in the application of capital punishment, officials said Thursday.
Singaporean Abdul Haleem Abdul Karim, 30, was saved from the gallows because he was a mere courier and assisted the police in disrupting the activities of drug traffickers, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said.
Abdul Haleem was sentenced on Wednesday 10 April to life in prison as well as 24 strokes of the cane, an additional punishment imposed for serious offences.
Until the legal reforms took effect this year, Singapore judges had no choice but to impose death by hanging on drug traffickers.
For heroin dealers, anyone found trafficking in more than 15g faced the mandatory death penalty under the old system.
ARRESTED IN 2010
Abdul Haleem and a friend were found in possession of at least 72.5 grams of the drug when they were arrested in 2010, prosecutors said.
The mandatory death penalty had long been denounced by human rights groups which say most traffickers caught and executed are just low-level couriers.
The AGC said in a statement that Abdul Haleem satisfied two requirements for a judge to spare him from execution: he was just a courier and he provided "substantive assistance" to police in the fight against the drugs trade.
But his friend Muhammad Ridzuan Muhammad Ali, 28, was sentenced to be hanged because he did not meet the criteria, said the AGC.
Under the legal reforms, judges are given the discretion to impose a jail term rather than the death penalty if a convict meets certain requirements which must be certified by the AGC.
WANTED TO DIE TOGETHER
The sentencing of the pair on Wednesday set off a courtroom drama when Abdul Haleem demanded to be hanged along with his friend, also a Singaporean, The Straits Times newspaper reported.
"If you are sparing my life and not sparing his life, I'd rather go down with him," Abdul Haleem was quoted as telling Justice Tay Yong Kwang.
The legal reforms were passed following a year-long review of the mandatory death penalties for murder and drug trafficking.
But Singapore, one of the world's safest societies, rejected calls to abolish the death penalty altogether, saying it must be preserved as a deterrent to crime.
EXTENT OF COOPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES
Human rights groups on Thursday welcomed the news on Abdul Haleem, but said the law could have been more specific about the extent of cooperation needed from a drugs suspect.
"It is a bit unclear and it leaves too much discretion on what exactly cooperating means and what the threshold is for the amount of cooperation," Roseann Rife, head of Amnesty International in East Asia, told AFP.
Sinapan Samydorai, executive director of Singapore civil rights group Think Centre, said "there is still that question on the discretion given to the prosecution to decide who is cooperative".
Kirsten Han, co-founder of Singapore-based anti-death penalty lobby group We Believe in Second Chances, echoed the same sentiment.
"When the power to issue such certificates lies in the hands of the Attorney-General, judges are still restricted in exercising their discretion, as the Attorney-General can effectively decide who can or cannot escape the death penalty," she told AFP.
