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The Barbarism of Singapore

By Jeralyn, Section Foreign Affairs
Posted on Mon Nov 28, 2005 at 11:22:39 PM EST
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There's no good news to report about the impending hanging of 25 year old Nguyen Van Tuong for a drug offense in Singaore scheduled for December 2. The Australian Government has given up, and right now the only thing it is requesting is that Nguyen's mother be allowed to hug her son on the way to the gallows.

Singapore's recently fired Chief Hangman Darshan Singh may perform the barbaric act after all. He says Nguyen will suffer less if he does it. Here's how it will go:

The prisoner is weighed a day before the execution, and hanging takes place at 6am (0900 AEDT), before the sun has risen. The death is witnessed by as many as seven people, including the prison superintendent, a coroner, a doctor and a priest - but not by the prisoner's family.

In execution by hanging, the person dies when the spinal cord snaps as they fall through the trapdoor, and not by asphyxiation. The heart usually stops beating 15 to 20 minutes later.

TalkLeft background on Executioner Singh and Nguyen is here. Recommended site: StopHanging.com

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    The Barbarism of Singapore | 8 comments (8 topical)
    Re: The Barbarism of Singapore (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:29 PM EST
    What time zone is AEDT?

    Re: The Barbarism of Singapore (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:29 PM EST
    If I had to guess, I would say Australian Eastern Daylight Time.

    Re: The Barbarism of Singapore (none / 0) (#3)
    by chemoelectric on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:30 PM EST
    The prisoner is weighed a day before the execution Common practice is to hang an equivalent weight for a day, to take much of the elasticity out of the rope. In execution by hanging, the person dies when the spinal cord snaps as they fall through the trapdoor, and not by asphyxiation. The heart usually stops beating 15 to 20 minutes later. Did the reporter not notice the blatant contradiction of the supposedly dead person's heart beating? How death occurs depends on the method of hanging. If the drop is significant then, yes, the neck may break and render the person unconscious, after which he or she will die probably by strangulation. However, in many if not most places hanging is carried out in a way that does not break the neck, and it takes a few minutes for the prisoner to pass out and then die by strangulation.

    Re: The Barbarism of Singapore (none / 0) (#4)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:30 PM EST
    Are we positive the international dateline does take you back in time a couple hundred years? Seriously, it is 2005 right?

    Re: The Barbarism of Singapore (none / 0) (#5)
    by cpinva on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:30 PM EST
    The prisoner is weighed a day before the execution, and hanging takes place at 6am (0900 AEDT), before the sun has risen. The death is witnessed by as many as seven people, including the prison superintendent, a coroner, a doctor and a priest - but not by the prisoner's family.
    i love it! the blatant hypocrisy of the singapore legislature and courts, much like our own actually. the punishment is meant to serve as warning to others, yet takes place before most people are awake, and out of the view of 99.9999999999% of the country's citizens. aside from the condemned, who, exactly, is going to be "warned" by this? no one. what a farce, masquerading as justice. if australia had any guts, they'd declare a trade embargo on singapore. but, they won't, money talks, everthing else be damned.

    Re: The Barbarism of Singapore (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:32 PM EST
    Oh Dear, Poor Singapore in the sights once more. How come the U.S. which has snuffed in excess of 1,000 victims since 1976 is NOT considered Barbaric ?????? Why the hypocrisy in Singapore's case ? Something smells here, probably the posters of the above rubbish. By the way, If you do not wish to become a similar statistic when visiting Singapore, COMPLY WITH IT'S LAWS. Simple, and easy, even a two year old could work that out.

    Re: The Barbarism of Singapore (none / 0) (#7)
    by jen on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:32 PM EST
    By the way, If you do not wish to become a similar statistic when visiting Singapore, COMPLY WITH IT'S LAWS. Simple, and easy, even a two year old could work that out.
    Given the statistics, it would seem you are wrong.

    Re: The Barbarism of Singapore (none / 0) (#8)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:32 PM EST
    Itchyvet, Good point. Hanging certainly is cruel (not quick) and unusual. Nevertheless, we in the US have no cause to judge Singapore for killing. We built a huge, 5-sided complex just for that purpose.

    The Barbarism of Singapore | 8 comments (8 topical)