It seems that Singapore decided to honour their international commitments to human rights before their commitments to the international drug war, and not the other way around. What follows was taken from the Southam News Headlines web page.
SINGAPORE - Canadian Ronald McCulloch and his Singaporean co-defendant Katamuthu Vijayakumar
escaped the gallows Monday when the prosecution reduced capital trafficking drug charges
to possession in a plea bargain. The two are expected to lead guilty Tuesday to the
new charges, their lawyers said. McCulloch now faces a maximum 40 years in jail
and Katamuthu faces 30 years, but neither is likely to get those sentences.
Members of Vancouver's cannabis community staked out in front of the Singaporean Embassy in Vancouver in protest of the manditory death penalty for McCulloch. For a week in June, activists maintained a presence outside the embassy, raising awareness of the situation, and hopefully putting pressure on the government of Singapore to not destroy McCulloch.
Below are some articles that were written in June before the charges and sentences for the alleged traffickers were reduced.
What follows was taken from the Toronto Star web page at www.thestar.com. It appeared in similar form in many papers across the country.
Please send some feedback to the Toronto Star and/or your local paper. You can reach the Toronto Star at LetterToEd@thestar.com or fax them at (416) 869-4322.
It is important that this action not go unnoticed by the rest of the world. I am open to feedback as to how we can let Singapore know that this type of action will not be tolerated.
I would like to begin with a boycott of Singapore goods, along with a lot of pressure placed upon the Canadian Foreign Affairs Department and Singapore Embassies.
SINGAPORE (AP) - A Canadian arrested on drug smuggling charges was ordered yesterday to stand trial June 21 on charges that carry a mandatory death penalty if he is convicted.Ronald Wilson McCulloch, 43, was among 25 people arrested Feb. 9 by Singaporean and Malaysian police, who said they seized 33.4 kilograms of marijuana.
McCulloch faces two marijuana trafficking charges, both of which carry a mandatory death sentence on conviction.
He also is charged with possessing marijuana mixture and consuming a controlled drug, which are punishable by a fine or jail sentence.
-- Eight kilograms of marijuana allegedly found in house --
If convicted, McCulloch could become the second westerner executed for violating Singapore's strict drug laws.
The first was Dutch businessman Johannes Van Damme, who was hanged in September, 1994.
Canada's Foreign Affairs Department has declined to release details about McCulloch, such as his hometown, but said he has lived in Singapore since 1979.
The Singapore narcotic bureau has described him as a "freelance worker" who has worked at a variety of jobs.
After a six-hour hearing yesterday, Acting Magistrate Phang Hsiao Chung ruled there was sufficient evidence for McCulloch and a Singaporean co-defendant, Katamuthu Vijayakumar, to stand trial.
The others arrested were Malaysians and Singaporeans.
Police said they found eight kilograms of marijuana in a house in Singapore where McCulloch was staying while in the country on a tourist visa.
Here are two people who you should contact to protest the mandatory death penalty that Ronald Wilson McCulloch will face if found guilty of trafficking marijuana in Singapore.
Canadian High Commission to Singapore
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 845, Singapore 9016, Republic of Singapore
Tel: (011-65) 225-6363 Fax: (011-65) 225-2450; 226-1541 (Commercial)
Internet: cdatanjs@singnet.com.sg
Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Singapore Desk, Derrick Patrick, (613) 992-6540
You might also want to visit the Singapore Government Home Page at www.gov.sg. Some fascinating and scary stuff.
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty 5018-B Antoine, Suite #189 Houston, TX 77092 Phone/FAX: (713) 523-8454 Email: TCADP@adelante.com Inside-Outside P.O. Box 1599 9701 BN Groningen The Netherlands Friends Committee to Abolish the Death Penalty P.O. Box 18106 Washington, D.C. 20036-1810. Campaign to End the Death Penalty P.O. Box 25730 Chicago, IL 60625 Death Penalty Education Center 12651 Briar Forest, Suite 153, Houston TX 77077 Phone/Fax (713) 493-6232 Contact person: Jimmy Dunne National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty 918 "F" St NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20004; ph. (202) 347-2411 Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation, P.O.B. 208, Atlantic, VA 23303; ph. (804) 824-0948 Amnesty International--Campaign to Abolish the Death Penalty, 322 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10001; ph. (212) 807-8400 American Civil Liberties Union--Capital Punishment Project, 122 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002; ph. (212) 675-2319