It was the year 64. Saint Peter, under persecution by the Roman emperor Nero, was sentenced to death in the lion arena. He had not had a proper trial, but it didn't matter these were gruesome times. Persecuted for the sake of his beliefs and for being naVve in how he openly practiced his religion, Peter was mauled by the beasts before a frenzied crowd. He died in an undignified fashion, without being afforded a proper burial.

Almost two millenia later, a 23-year old Malaysian man, Vignes s/o Mourthi, was sentenced to death in Singapore for carrying a plastic bag containing 27 grams of heroin over the border. At his arrest and during his trial, Vignes vehemently denied any knowledge of the contents of the bag and said that a long time family friend had simply asked him to deliver it on his daily journey into Singapore for work.

Vignes was hung on September 26, 2003. He had been convicted largely on the basis of a conversation he had had with a Central Narcotics Bureau official that indicated he was aware of transporting the heroin. No real record of this conversation was actually produced, nor was the information shared with the defendant or his lawyer before his trial, but it was still deemed admissible evidence. When an appeal was made for a re-trial, the court reportedly told Vignes' lawyer that it was pointless - he had been found guilty.

When the hearse carrying Vignes s/o Mourthi's remains pulled away from the execution scene, distraught family members jumped into the vehicle and beat at his chest, trying desperately to revive him. But the Lion City's court of justice had proven fatal.

Highest execution rate

In a city-state that has been lauded as having the best quality of infrastructure per capita in the world and the second most tech-savvy, Singapore also holds the world record for having the highest execution rate relative to its population. In a country where citizens enjoy clean, efficient transportation systems, readily accessible telecommunications and a plethora of other luxuries that come with being a fully-modernized, first world country how is it possible for the laws on capital punishment to have advanced so little since the Roman's? Yet this is evidently the case.

On January 15, 2004 Amnesty International (AI) an international human rights organisation released a report revealing, for the first time, just how shocking the death toll from executions is in the Lion City.

AI has calculated 408 executions since 1991, a figure based on information given by the Ministry of Home Affairs and from other government figures released in September last year. What is more disturbing, however, is that these are basic estimates. Information about the death penalty is shrouded in secrecy due to a largely restricted Singaporean press and it is problematic for any non-government organisation to collate information. As a result, AI believes that the statistics showing execution rates are actually much higher than what has been recorded.

Interestingly, while Singapore may be strides ahead in terms of setting trends as a tech-savvy state, it defies international trends towards abolition of the death penalty. The reason? Apparently capital punishment reduces crime, said the Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs some 3 years ago an opinion still widely held today. "The relatively safe and crime-free environment is one important attraction of Singapore to tourists and investors Singapore has some of the toughest laws in the world such as for drug trafficking and the use of firearms offences, both of which attract the capital punishment".

Is there a decrease?

The issue is that there is no evidence to suggest that by maintaining draconian laws on capital punishment including a mandatory death penalty for certain crimes there will be a decrease in drug trafficking or drug use. In 2002, the Singapore Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) reported that a total of 3,393 drug abusers had been arrested a 16% increase compared with the year before mostly for the use of methamphetamines. This was despite the fact that the death penalty's scope had been increased to include a mandatory death sentence for importing, exporting or trafficking more than 250 grams of methamphetamine.

Beyond the Singaporean authorities' claim that capital punishment is a deterrent to crime, they also refuse to acknowledge that the death penalty is a human right's issue. As a result, the topic is void of public debate. It is AI's belief that the death penalty is in violation of the most fundamental human right: the right to life. When killing another person in the name of justice, the only outcome achieved is revenge. Furthermore, studies have consistently revealed that the death penalty is largely inflicted upon those who live in the lowest economic strata of society - those who are poor, uneducated and most vulnerable to social crime.

Without public dialogue about the death penalty, there can be no change. It could even be argued that silence is the ultimate culprit behind these killings. On the release of Amnesty's latest report on Singapore and the death penalty, AI recommends a number of actions to the Singapore government. These include the total abolishment of capital punishment a decision in line with the UN Commission on Human Rights resolutions, transparency on the application of the death penalty, open dialogue on the use of capital punishment and assurance that every person has the right to a fair trial.

There are many more steps that Singapore needs to make in order to evolve beyond the Roman period and into the 21st century. But if it this can be achieved in other arenas of the first world, then it can surely be achieved in the Lion's den.

Amy Morison has been an active campaigner with AI since her university days in Australia. She is also involved in a number of non-profit human rights and social organisations in Malaysia. Any feedback to the author about the above article can be directed to amyventures@pulp-fiction.com.

For a copy of the report, contact Amnesty International Malaysia at 603-7955 2680 or your local AI office.

To read the full text of the report online, please go to:

"Singapore: The death penalty: A hidden toll of executions"

Other recent Amnesty International reports in the death penalty in Southeast Asia include:

"Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: The death penalty - inhumane and ineffective"

and "Viet Nam: Death penalty -- a dirty secret"