mkini: Emergency motion on death row case filed

www.malaysiakini.com
Emergency motion on death row case filed

Susan Loone
Jul 4, 10
5:12pm

Batu MP Tian Chua (below) has filed an emergency motion for parliament on Monday to debate the case of Yong Vui Kong, a young Malaysian faced with a death sentence in Singapore.

It is a last-minute attempt by Malaysian parliamentarians, lawyers and civil society activists to try and halt Yong's execution as his clemency period ends next month.

Yong, who was only 19 when arrested for drug trafficking in 2007, had his execution in December last year halted when his lawyer M Ravi filed for a stay pending his clemency appeal.

Ravi when contacted said he is grateful for the support the parliamentarian is showing to the case, although he fears the motion may be blocked.

“This is my third round to Malaysia, I am really exhausted but am inspired by this sudden turn of events. I need all the support I can get,” he said.

Keeping case alive

Since last month, Ravi has been visiting Malaysia to highlight Yong's case to drum up public support.

However, the high-profile case in Singapore has received little attention locally, until news websites started highlighting the issue recently.

The media attention resulted in the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore visiting Yong (left in photo), now 22, in Changi prison. They tried to broker a meeting between Ravi and de facto Law Minister Nazri Aziz, but the planned meeting was eventually aborted.

No reason was cited for the about-turn.

Ravi says he has however managed to secure a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Chee Leong on Monday at the parliament premises.

Singapore, like Malaysia, calls for death penalty on drugs-related charges. Despite the island-nation's harsh laws, a German national did manage to dodge the gallows in 2002.

Julia Suzanne Bohl, 23, was arrested in Singapore for possession of 687 grams of marijuana and other drugs in her apartment.

Bohl was eventually released in 2005 after laboratory tests showed the amount of pure drugs found in her apartment totaled only 281 grams - less than the 500-gram limit for marijuana which warrants the mandatory death sentence.