Two Malaysian citizens sentenced to death in a Singaporean court for drug trafficking five years ago were spared the noose today when their sentence was commuted to life imprisonment instead.
31-year old Cheong Chun Yin and Pang Siew Fum, 60, were convicted in 2010 of trafficking 2.7kg of heroin into Singapore on June 16, 2008. Cheong was also sentenced to 15 strokes of the cane, the minimum such penalty for the crime under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act.
High Court judge Choo Han Teck said in his ruling that he appreciated Cheong’s involvement in the case was in the capacity of a courier. He also noted that Cheong had assisted the island republic’s Central Narcotics Bureau with disrupting drug trafficking activities outside Singapore.
The Misuse of Drugs Act was amended alongside Singapore’s Penal Code in 2012 to remove the mandatory death sentence for certain types of homicide and drug trafficking crimes, in order to “temper justice with mercy”.
To avoid the death sentence, a drug trafficker must meet the condition that he acted only in the capacity of a courier, and not a planner of a drug trading operation; a trafficker would also be required to provide documentary assistance to the Central Narcotics Bureau on drug cases; or have a mental disability that would hamper his appreciation for the gravity of his crime.
Cheong’s father, Cheong Kah Pin, 59, expressed his relief when his son avoided death by hanging.
“But I hope the Singapore government can give him a chance and let him come back earlier,” he said, as quoted by The Malay Mail Online.
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