Happy birthday, Yong Vui Kong!

Yong Vui Kong

2 years have passed since Sabahan Yong Vui Kong was sentenced to death by a Singapore court for a drug offence. As campaigns to save him continue relentlessly, he has turned to Buddhism, meditates and counsels other inmates and prison wardens.

Every day counts for Yong Vui Kong. Last Tuesday, he celebrated his 23rd birthday in prison in Singapore, a milestone for someone who has been facing the hangman’s noose over the last 2 years.

Vui Kong was sentenced to the gallows on Jan 7, 2009 for possession of 47.27g of heroin. Initially, he was to be executed on Dec 4 the same year. He petitioned for a judicial review of the rules that can potentially allow offenders like him to be spared the gallows, but it was turned down last year. He subsequently appealed the decision, and last Monday the republic’s Court of Appeal reserved its judgment.

Countless blogs have been set up in support of Vui Kong, and more than 22,300 people have signed in to the "Save Yong Vui Kong" Facebook group page.

Amnesty International Malaysia staged a play based on his life while Inter­national news station Al-Jazeera made a documentary about the visit of campaigners to Sandakan, his hometown.

In Singapore, a group of supporters commemorated his birthday with a song and a cake. For every day he is alive, it means hope for the clemency campaigners whose efforts have continued unabated.

So why did 109,346 people sign a petition (collected on the streets and not the Internet) asking the Singapore President for clemency? Why are people concerned about a young man they don’t even know, one whom detractors say is a criminal and should have known better than to smuggle drugs?

The Save Vui Kong Campaign coordinator Ngeow Chow Ying believes that Vui Kong’s plight has touched hearts because of his circumstances.

"I think it's his background and the fact that he has repented. I know people who support the death penalty for drug crimes but are sympathetic towards Vui Kong," she says.

Ngeow acknowledges that the group is sometimes misunderstood.

"We are not asking him to be let free. He has to take legal responsibility for what he did. We are asking for clemency," she stresses.

Kirsten Hans of the We Believe In Second Chances in Singapore says she and her fellow campaigners have been accused of neglecting the victims of drug abuse and their families.

"I've been called a criminal-hugger," she says.

For the record, Vui Kong was caught with heroin in June 2007, a crime that warrants a mandatory death sentence. He was barely 18 at the time. Because of his age, trial judge Justice Choo Han Teck asked the prosecution to consider reducing the charge against him.

The prosecution declined, and Vui Kong was given the mandatory death sentence.

A victim of circumstances

Vui Kong is the 6th in a family of 7 siblings. His parents were divorced when he was only three and as a result, his mother Liaw Yueng Kuan was forced to raise the family single-handedly. She earned a paltry RM220 monthly washing dishes at a hawker stall.

Because of the dire situation, only Vui Kong and his 2 elder brothers lived with their mother and reportedly abusive grandfather. The other siblings lived with relatives.

Of all the siblings, only Vui Kong's younger sister Yong Vui Fung, now 21, completed studies until secondary 5.

His elder brother Yun Leong, 26, a kitchen helper in Singapore, who visits Vui Kong every Monday in prison, says growing up was very tough because of the negative atmosphere.

According to him, his mother was always abused and beaten by their grandfather. The brothers, meanwhile, were forced to take care of their grandfather’s patch of oil palm, a laborious task.

Vui Kong dropped out of school when he was 11 and started working odd jobs, including washing cars for RM3 a day.

At one point, he stayed with a friend because his workplace was far from his home.

Because of his meagre salary, he decided to try his luck in Kuala Lumpur when he was 16, getting a job as a kitchen helper.

Vui Kong got into the "wrong company" and started selling pirated DVDs in Petaling Street, earning about RM1,000 monthly, says Yun Leong.

There he met a "big brother" who bought him meals in hotels and expensive clothes. Vui Kong then started debt collecting before delivering "special packages."

He did not know much about the law and the boss lied to him, telling him that peddling DVDs would earn him 7 years in jail while peddling drugs would only get him two years in prison, at the most, says Yun Leong. "He was a naive kid."

At that time, their mother was suffering from depression and Vui Kong was desperately looking for money to help her.

3 days before getting caught, Vui Kong flew to Sandakan to celebrate his mother’s birthday. In fact, his last wish before his slated execution in 2009 was to see his mother.

Until today, his mother does not know that Vui Kong is facing the death sentence. "He told her that he was going for a pilgrimage far away," says Yun Leong.

Onto the path of Buddha

It is learnt that Vui Kong has undergone a complete transformation since entering jail.

He has taken up Buddhism and spends a lot of time on prayer and meditation, waking up by 4am every day. He has also become a vegetarian and taken a new name, Nan Di Li, from the Buddhist Dharma.

"He is glad that he was caught because if not, he might still be doing bad things," says Yun Leong.

Vui Fung says she could not believe the change she saw in her brother when she met him in pri­son.

"He always had a good heart, although not necessarily good habits. I remember him always waking up late in the day," she recalls.

Vui Kong's lawyer M. Ravi, who has been working pro bono, says that when he first met Vui Kong, the latter could hardly speak a word of English and only spoke broken Malay and Hokkien. Now, 80% of their conversation is in English.

"Every time there is a legal submission, he would bring his dictionary along and scrutinise the submission. He would always ask why one word was used and not another," says Ravi.

He says Vui Kong's mother was impressed with her son when she saw him in December 2009.

"She was crying when she heard his Mandarin," says Ravi.

Similarly, Ngeow, who has been reading letters to his family, says that he started writing simple letters asking them how they were. But as time passed, the letters became more philosophical, with quotes from Buddhist teachings.

"His grammar has improved tremendously as well," she says, adding that 30 of these letters have been compiled into an e-book.

Vui Kong's compassion grew as well. He would save the biscuits he got in the morning and on the way to the library, he would distribute them to the other prisoners, says Ravi.

"He also counsels the other inmates and even prison wardens," he adds.

"Not a single prison warden can accept his execution. A prison guard told me that he is the gentlest soul he has ever met and they all have benefited from him."

Ravi considers Vui Kong to be an enlightened soul and is learning meditation from him.

"I feel recharged after seeing him," Ravi says.

Vui Kong also drew him a picture of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, often referred to as the Bodhi­sattva of the netherworld because of his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until "all the Hells are empty."

The drawing with a 4-coloured ballpoint pen took more than a month to complete.

"He would kneel down, meditate and draw the picture," says Ravi, adding that Vui Kong is talented in art.

Vui Kong is also thankful to all those who have been supporting his clemency appeal.

"I showed him a picture of Singaporean activists who rallied in the park in support of his cause. He took at least 30 minutes to look at the picture to know all the faces," Ravi says.

Vui Kong also wrote thank you letters to each person in the picture, including a 5-year-old girl, he adds.

Yun Leong says his brother will accept whatever happens and is not afraid of the noose.

"Vui Kong has accepted his fate because everyone will die anyway. He took the wrong path and is not afraid to accept the consequence of his actions. He just wants his life to have meaning," he says.

Yun Leong adds that his brother wants to join the anti-drug campaign and guide other youngsters towards the right path.

"He tells people not to take the easy way out and not to trust anyone blindly," he says.

Ngeow believes Vui Kong would make a good advocate for an anti-drug campaign.

"His story can inspire others not to make the same mistakes, and those in similar circumstances. If Vui Kong speaks to them, they would probably listen to him," she says.

Related website: 2ndchance4yong: http://2ndchance4yong.wordpress.com

Click here to sign the online clemency petition.

Source: The Star, January 23, 2011


URGENT APPEAL for Yong Vui Kong at imminent risk of execution in Singapore

Yong Vui Kong, a 23-year-old Malaysian man, has exhausted his appeals against a mandatory death sentence in Singapore. He is at immediate risk of execution unless the Malaysian authorities and others press Singapore's President to grant clemency.

On Monday 17 January, Singapore's Court of Appeal reserved judgment on Yong Vui Kong's case. His counsel had appealed for his execution to be stayed on the grounds that he had been denied a fair clemency process. In Singapore the decision for clemency rests with the President, on the advice of the Cabinet. In December 2009 the President rejected Yong Vui Kong's petition for clemency. Later that month, the High Court postponed the execution to allow the Court of Appeals time to hear an application for a stay. The refusal of the Court of Appeal to grant a stay has given a green light for Yong Vui Kong to be hanged.

Last July, Malaysian officials called on Singapore to spare Yong Vui Kong's life. Malaysia's foreign minister, Anifah Aman, announced, "I will be writing to the government of Singapore to plead for his clemency." Malaysian legislators have also called for clemency.

Yong Vui Kong was sentenced to death in January 2009 for trafficking 47 grams of diamorphine (heroin), a crime committed when he was 19 years old. Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act makes the death penalty mandatory for trafficking more than 30 grams of heroin, leaving judges no discretion to hand down alternative sentences.

Singapore's law also presumes trafficking in all cases involving the possession of over 2 grams of heroin, which shifts the burden of proving that no trafficking was involved from the prosecution to the defendant. This violates the core human right to be presumed innocent of a crime until proven guilty.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In a 2007 drug-trafficking case, Singapore executed a young Nigerian, Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi. UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, Philip Alston, condemned the sentence on human rights grounds: "Singapore's decision to make the death penalty mandatory keeps judges from considering all of the factors relevant to determining whether a death sentence would be permissible in a capital case."

Amnesty International opposes the imposition of the death penalty in all circumstances and irrespective of claims of utility; the organization considers the death penalty a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:

* Urging Singapore's President to reconsider Yong Vui Kong’s clemency petition and commute his death sentence, which was mandatorily imposed;
* Urging Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah to press Singaporean President Nathan to reconsider Yong Vui Kong's clemency petition and commute his death sentence;
* Reminding Malaysia Foreign Minister's Anifah of his commitment to call for clemency for Yong Vui Kong, a Malaysian who is also a native of Anifah's home state of Sabah.

APPEALS TO:

President
His Excellency SR Nathan
Office of the President
Orchard Road, Istana
SINGAPORE 0922
Fax: 011 65 6735 3135
Email: s_r_nathan@istana.gov.sg
Salutation: Your Excellency

Foreign Minister of Malaysia
His Excellency Datuk Seri Anifah Amam
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Wisma Putra
NO 1 Jalan Wisam Putra, Precinct 2
62602 Putrajuya, MALAYSIA
Fax: 011 60 3 8889 1717
Email: webmaster@kin.gov.my
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

Editor-in-Chief
The Star
Menara Star
15 Jalan 16/11
46350 Petaling Jaya
SINGAPORE
Fax: 011 60 03 7955 4039
Email: editor@thestar.com.my

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.

Source: Amnesty International, January 24, 2011

Yong's Story

The case of a young Malaysian convicted for drug trafficking tests Singapore's capital punishment laws.

In Singapore anyone caught with more than 15 grams of heroin faces a mandatory death penalty. No extenuating circumstances can be taken into account by the legal system and this, argues the UN special rapporteur, is a violation of human rights.


Now, the conviction of one young Malaysian man, Yong Vui Kong, sentenced to death after being found guilty of heroin trafficking, is forcing Singaporean courts to re-examine the law. Madasamy Ravi, Yong's lawyer, is fighting to make legal history as he takes Yong's story to the Court of Appeal.


Already his client's death has been postponed twice. Meanwhile Yong's brother, Yun Leong, is preparing the family for the possibility that Yong will hang. As Yong languished on death row in Singapore's notorious Changi Prison, filmmakers Lynn Lee and James Leong spent time with his family and legal team, watching the unfolding case of Yong Vui Kong.


In the following account Lynn Lee shares her views on Yong's story and what it says about Singapore's legal system.

At first it was just a name. Yong Vui Kong. We first heard it in 2009, at a forum on the death penalty in Singapore. Yong Vui Kong. We were told he was a convicted drug mule from east Malaysia. He had been caught with more than 15 grams of heroin. He would most likely hang before the year was up. We shook our heads, made sympathetic noises. But really, it was just a name.

And then we saw him in person. A skinny kid in an oversized orange jumpsuit seated behind a glass enclosure, surrounded by prison guards. And the awfulness of his situation hit home.

This kid was going to die for a crime committed when he was just 19. He looked so helpless, frail almost, inside the sterile courtroom. It was hard not to feel sorry for him.

We were told he had converted to Buddhism, had vowed to be good. We were told he was holding out hope for a second chance. It was hard not to root for him.

Over the months, as Vui Kong's lawyer obtained one stay of execution after another, tens of thousands of people rallied to his cause. These were supporters who had never even seen him in person. They went out in force, collecting signatures in support of a petition for a second chance for the kid. They blogged, made banners, composed songs, organised protests and sent hundreds of messages to his family members. They amazed us with their commitment and energy.

But why? Why this particular death row inmate and not anyone else? Singapore regularly hangs people for drug trafficking. So what makes Yong Vui Kong so special?

Perhaps it is his personal story, the awfulness of his past. He grew up in extreme poverty, dropped out of school when he was just 11. He was barely literate when he was caught - a lowly cog in a shadowy syndicate. He was so very young. He is so very sorry now.

It is hard to overstate the significance of Yong Vui Kong's case. It has forced many in Singapore to think about the fairness of the mandatory death sentence.

The government has vigorously defended its stance, with the law minister himself questioning the cost of letting a drug mule like Vui Kong go. The Court of Appeal here has also held that the mandatory death sentence is not unconstitutional.

But still, the debate rages on, and we suspect, it will do so for some time to come.

In the meantime, the family continues to hold on to hope. No one expected in 2009, when Vui Kong's lawyer first walked into court requesting a stay of execution, that the kid would still be alive today in January 2011. But he is. And the story has drawn more attention than anyone thought possible. One of the reasons could be because of the numerous complex legal issues that the case has thrown up.

As Vui Kong's lawyer puts it, the battle is far from over. The judges have yet to release their decision on the latest challenge - a request for a judicial review of the law minister's statements and the president's powers.

For the family, it must be nerve-wracking, this ding-donging between hope and despair. Onlookers like us will perhaps never understand their anguish. But should the kid die, we too would be devastated. We would grieve not in the way the family would grieve. We would grieve because of what killing someone like Yong Vui Kong says about us, about the country we live in, about what we are willing to sacrifice, in exchange for our sense of security.

For more information about Yong Vui Kong read Lynn's blog.

Yong's Story can be seen on Al Jazeera from Tuesday, January 25, at the following times GMT: Tuesday: 2230; Wednesday: 0930; Thursday: 0330; Friday: 1630; Saturday: 2230; Sunday: 0930; Monday: 0330; Tuesday: 1630.

Source: Al Jazeera, January 25, 2011
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