May 14
SINGAPORE:
JOINT STATEMENT ON IMMINENT EXECUTION OF KHO JABING
We, the undersigned, are troubled by the imminent execution of Jabing Kho in
Singapore, despite strong concerns over the development of his case. We believe
there are strong grounds for President Tony Tan of the Republic of Singapore to
grant clemency in this case.
The family of Sarawakian Jabing Kho, 31, received a letter from the Singapore
Prison Service on 12 May 2016 informing them that his execution had been
scheduled for 20 May 2016. Jabing was convicted of murder in 2011.
The announcement came as a shock to the family and all involved in campaigning
for Jabing. We had been under the impression that the authorities would allow
his lawyer to submit a fresh clemency appeal on his behalf after the criminal
motion filed in late 2015 was dismissed in April this year. His lawyer had sent
President Tony Tan a holding letter informing them of his intention to file a
new clemency petition, and had been in the process of drafting it when the
execution was scheduled.
On 13 May 2016, Jabing's lawyer received a letter from the President saying
that he would be willing to consider a clemency petition if it is filed, but
will not be postponing the scheduled execution. Considering that past practice
shows that the President usually takes 3 months before any decision regarding
clemency is announced, we are concerned that this current state of affairs will
leave the Cabinet and the President with insufficient time to properly consider
a fresh plea from Jabing.
We do not condone Jabing's crime, nor do we seek to erase the hurt he has
caused to the victim's family. Yet the course of Jabing's case has been
tumultuous and traumatic. Due to amendments made to Singapore's mandatory death
penalty regime and appeals lodged by the prosecution, Jabing had, over the
years, been sentenced to death, then life imprisonment (with caning), then
death again. This back-and-forth has taken a horrific toll not just on Jabing
as the inmate, but his family.
Furthermore, 1 High Court judge and 2 Judges of Appeal had not believed that
the death penalty was an appropriate punishment for Jabing Kho, as they felt
that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that he had exhibited a
"blatant disregard for human life". (See Annex A, attached at the end of this
statement, for relevant excerpts of the judges' ruling.)
The death penalty does not simply exact an irreversible punishment, but also
imposes emotional and psychological tolls on both the inmate and the family and
we oppose it unconditionally. Having been re-sentenced twice, from death to
life and back again, Jabing and his family have already been put through a
deeply painful process. The knowledge that 3 respected and honourable judges
hold the belief that the current punishment does not fit the crime simply makes
the situation doubly hard to bear.
We believe that Jabing Kho's case presents very strong and persuasive grounds
for clemency, and that his death sentence should be immediately be set aside
and commuted to life imprisonment as allowed by Singapore's Constitution.
We therefore urge the Cabinet of Singapore to advise President Tony Tan to
grant clemency to Jabing Kho without delay and re-establish a moratorium on
executions as a 1st step towards the abolition of the death penalty.
Signed:
Local Organisations
Community Action Network
Function8
Maruah
Sayoni
Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign (SADPC)
Think Centre
We Believe in Second Chances
Regional/International Organisations
Advocates Association of Sarawak
Amnesty International
Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN)
Center for Orang Asli Concerns
Civil Rights Committee KLSCAH
Damn the Dams
Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET)
People's Green Coalition
Reprieve Australia
Sembang-sembang Forum
Suara Rakyat Malaysia
Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP)
The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence
Victims' Family Organisations
Center for Prisoner's Rights Japan
Journey of Hope
Ocean
Individuals
Abdul Rashid bin Bakar, relative of inmate on death row in Singapore
Atiqah bte Zaimi, relative of inmate on death row in Singapore
Haminah bte Abu Bakar, relative of inmate on death row in Singapore
Idros Ismail, brother of inmate on death row in Singapore
Jolene Tan, writer and activist
Kokila Annamalai, activist and community organiser
Letchumy Arumugam, mother of inmate on death row in Singapore
Marilyn Siew, activist
M Ravi, anti-death penalty activist
Osman bin Bakar, relative of inmate on death row in Singapore
Priya Ratha Krishnan, fiancee of inmate on death row in Singapore
Sangeetha Thanapal, activist
Saraswathy Kataiah, sister of inmate on death row in Singapore
Sean Francis Han, activist
Sharmila Rockey, sister of inmate on death row in Singapore
Syida Ismail, sister of inmate on death row in Singapore
Tan Tee Seng, activist
Vanessa Ho, activist
Zaimi Bin Abdul Rahman, relative of inmate on death row in Singapore
Zarah bte Abu Bakar, relative of inmate on death row in Singapore
(source: wordpress.com)
************************
Group appeals to President Tony Tan over Malaysian's impending execution
A coalition of NGOs and individuals have urged Singapore president Tony Tan to
grant clemency to Malaysian Kho Jabing who is due to be executed next week for
a murder he committed 8 years ago.
In a statement, the coalition said the announcement of Jabing's execution came
as a shock to the family and all involved in campaigning for him as they were
under the impression that the authorities would allow his lawyer to submit a
fresh clemency appeal on his behalf. This was after a criminal motion filed in
late 2015 was dismissed last month.
The coalition said that Jabing's lawyer had sent President Tony Tan a holding
letter informing the former's intention to file a new clemency petition, and
had been in the process of drafting it when the execution was scheduled.
Jabing's family received a letter from the Singapore Prison Service on Thursday
about the execution that has been scheduled for May 20.
On May 13, Jabing's lawyer received a letter from the President saying that he
would be willing to consider a clemency petition if it is filed, but will not
be postponing the scheduled execution.
"Considering that past practice shows that the President usually takes 3 months
before any decision regarding clemency is announced, we are concerned that this
current state of affairs will leave the Cabinet and the President with
insufficient time to properly consider a fresh plea from Jabing," the coalition
said in a statement on Saturday.
The coalition is made up of groups such as We Believe in Second Chances,
Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign, Amnesty International and others.
It added that Jabing's case presented very strong and persuasive grounds for
clemency, and that his death sentence should be immediately be set aside and
commuted to life imprisonment as allowed by Singapore's Constitution.
"We therefore urge the Cabinet of Singapore to advise President Tony Tan to
grant clemency to Jabing Kho without delay and re-establish a moratorium on
executions as a first step towards the abolition of the death penalty," it
said.
(source: asiaone.com)
INDONESIA:
Zimbabwean to be executed in Indonesia
An unnamed Zimbabwean is among the 15 inmates who will soon face the firing
squad in Indonesia's next round of executions for various crimes, reports said
this week.
According to the Time Magazine, the composition of execution line-up suggests
an attempt to avoid the intense international attention and outcry that
happened when Jakarta executed a total of 14 drug convicts last year - all but
2 of them foreign citizens.
Then, there were rallies and social-media campaigns for the Australian Bali 9
ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Filipina migrant worker Mary Jane
Veloso and Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, urging President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to
pardon the condemned.
This time around there are 5 Indonesians while the rest, according to local
media, are foreign - 4 Chinese, 1 Pakistani, 2 Nigerians, 2 Senegalese and 1
Zimbabwean.
"There is unlikely to be the same kind of uproar when the prison authorities in
the penal island of Nusakambangan conduct the next round of executions,
however," said the report.
7 of the 10 foreigners set to be executed came from countries that implement
the death penalty (China, Pakistan and Nigeria). The remaining 3 foreign
citizens came from poor African countries: Zimbabwe, which is moving toward
eliminating capital punishment, and Senegal, which abolished death penalty more
than a decade ago.
According to the report, the 5 Indonesian inmates have been transferred to the
Nusakambangan in the past month - 3 of them of them last Sunday - raising
speculation that executions are imminent. The government hasn't announced the
execution date and convicts' identities, however.
"The executions can take place any time, but there will not be a 'soap opera'
about it this time," Chief Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan told journalists
recently.
In 2001, it was reported that a Zimbabwean by the name Ozias Sibanda was
executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking. But officials at the Zimbabwean
embassy in Malaysia, at the time, said they thought Sibanda was a national from
any other African country who had either stolen or cloned a Zimbabwean
passport.
(source: New Zimbabwe)
********************************
Police arrest man, seize over one kilo of Syabu
Police foiled an attempt to smuggle drugs into the state by arresting a local
man and seizing over a kilogramme of Syabu worth an estimated RM163,000.
State deputy police commissioner Datuk Abdul Aziz Yusuf revealed that the
arrest was made around 11am on Thursday when personnel from the state Narcotics
Crime Investigation Department (NCID) detained the suspect in a parking lot at
Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce.
"Acting on information received, state NCID officers searched the 27-year-old
suspect's car and discovered drugs believed to be syabu weighing 1.325kg packed
inside food packages and boxes of sugar to avoid detection.
"The suspect was immediately arrested while his car, a Perodua Viva, was seized
along with RM2,100 cash found in his possession," he said during a press
conference at state police headquarters here yesterday.
The suspect's urine tested positive for amphetamine.
Abdul Aziz further disclosed that he had been remanded until May 19 to
facilitate investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,
that carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.
"We thank the public for the tip-off that led to this arrest and urge members
of the community to support our war against drugs by relaying to us any
information on drug-related activities so we can eradicate this menace
together."
Among those present were district police chief ACP Abang Ahmad Abang Julai and
state NCID head Supt Lukas Aket.
\ (source: theborneopost.com)
MALAYSIA:
Nabbed for growing cannabis in house compound
Thinking that no one will make out what they are, a 28-year-old lorry driver
planted 3 cannabis plants in the compound of his rented house in Pasir Putih
here.
Unfortunately for him, the plants did not go unnoticed and they led police
straight to his tiny drug farm.
Police raided the place on Wednesday following a tip-off by the public, said
Perak deputy narcotics chief Supt Abdul Latiff Meha.
The 7.30pm raid also resulted in the discovery of 2.7kg of heroin and 59g of
methamphetamine with a street value of RM171,000.
"This is one of the rare times when we actually find the plant itself.
"In fact, it is the 1st such case in Perak this year," Supt Abdul Latiff told
reporters here yesterday, adding police also seized a Proton Iswara Aeroback
worth RM15,000 and a motorcycle worth RM7,500 on the premises.
Supt Latiff said the drugs were enough to fuel the habits of some 2,400
addicts. The substance is believed to be for distribution in Perak.
???Initial investigations show that the suspect is from Klang and does not have
any previous convictions.
"He is being remanded for 7 days until May 18 to facilitate investigations,"
said Supt Latiff.
The case, he added, was being investigated as drug trafficking under Section
39B of Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty.
The suspect is also being investigated under Section 6B of the same Act for
growing the illegal crop, in which he faces life imprisonment and whipping up
to 6 times, if found guilty.
(source: The Star)
INDIA:
Govt plans to give more powers to NIA
Aiming to give more teeth to NIA, the government is contemplating to empower
the anti-terror investigating agency by allowing it to probe in foreign
countries if there is any attack on Indians and Indian assets.
Official sources said the Home Ministry is planning to amend the National
Investigation Agency Act, enacted in 2008 after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack,
to give additional powers to the agency mandated to investigate all terror-
related cases.
As per the proposal, NIA will be given powers to investigate in foreign soil,
with the permission of the host government, since there have been instances of
attacks on Indians and Indian assets like foreign missions in the past.
A note for the Union Cabinet is being prepared and once it is cleared, the
amendments will be tabled before Parliament for its nod before it is included
in NIA Act, sources said.
The conspiracy of Pathankot terror attack was also hatched in Pakistan.
NIA may also be given special power to keep eyes on activities of modules of
Middle-East terror group ISIS and Pakistan-based terror groups to ensure any
attempt to harm India will be detected in advance.
Also, NIA may be authorised, through the amendment of the Act, to commute the
charge of death penalty to life imprisonment in plea bargaining cases.
There are several administrative gaps in NIA Act and through the amendment
these loopholes would be plugged, sources said.
(source: PTI News)
UGANDA:
Ugandan opposition leader charged with treason over protests----A judiciary
spokesman says Uganda's main opposition leader has been charged with treason
and jailed
Uganda's main opposition leader has been charged with treason and jailed in a
remote area in the country's northeast, a judiciary spokesman said Saturday.
Kizza Besigye was handed charges late Friday stemming from his public attacks
on the legitimacy of President Yoweri Museveni, who won a disputed election in
February, said Solomon Muyita.
Besigye, a qualified physician, was Museveni's personal doctor during the
guerrilla war that launched Museveni into power in 1986. He held various
government positions and rose to become a colonel in the army, but then broke
ranks with Museveni in 1999.
Besigye ran for president in 2001, promising a more democratic government, and
has challenged Museveni in elections since then. He claims he won the February
vote and has repeatedly urged his supporters to wage a defiance campaign
against the authorities.
There is a video online purportedly showing Besigye being sworn in as Uganda's
president.
The Associated Press couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the
video, but Besigye's party, the Forum for Democratic Change, reported on
Twitter that Besigye had been sworn in on the eve of Museveni's inauguration
for a 5th term.
Muyita cited the alleged inauguration of Besigye as one of the reasons for the
treason charge, which carries a maximum penalty of death on conviction.
Besigye was charged in the district of Moroto, where he had been flown after
being arrested on Wednesday in the capital Kampala.
His lawyer didn't answer calls seeking a comment Saturday.
(source: The Daily Astorian)
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