This is the latest news of Yong Vui Kong. For information of the background of this story, please refer to the "letter" labels for the series of letters written by YVK as he awaits his death sentence. Blogger.
In a statement today, Asia Division of Human Rights Watch deputy director Phil Robertson described caning as “barbaric” and a “colonial era” throwback that constitutes cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by international human rights law.
“It’s high time that a court challenge is mounted to Singapore’s continued, systematic use of corporal punishment as part of sentencing for myriad crimes.
“Every time a prisoner is caned in Singapore, whether it be for vandalism, illegal entry or something else, it is a dark stain on Singapore justice and its reliance on this systematic use of torture to punish people,” Robertson said.
Yong (above), who was resentenced to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of caning after escaping the gallows last year, filed an appeal four months ago to have the caning quashed.
His lawyer M Ravi argued that caning is unconstitutional, particularly the manner in which the punishment is carried out.
Echoing the lawyer, Phil said caning should be “immediately” and “unconditionally” abolished in Singapore.
“Let’s hope the Court of Appeal recognises the damage that continued use of caning does to the respect for human rights in Singapore, and rules to end this heinous practice,” he said.
In 2008, Yong was sentenced to death after he was convicted of smuggling 47.27gm of heroin into Singapore.
After a highly publicised four years battle against his death sentence, the 25-year-old had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
He was saved by a new law passed in Singapore that offers an exception to the previously mandatory death sentence for drug smugglers.
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