Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore arrests Alan Shadrake.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's state controlled official newspaper The Straits Times Online edition of July 19, 2010 carries the story ""Hangman" author arrested". In his compelling book, "Once a Jolly Hangman" Alan Shadrake, who was arrested, investigates death penalty in Singapore, and clearly exposes the systematic abuse of the legal system where the courts routinely treat well connected Western foreigners backed by their governments leniently, escaping death, while poor unconnected Singaporeans are always hanged.

One disturbing example in the book is the story of Julia Bohl, a young German woman who was caught red handed with more than 600 grams of heroin, an amount well above the minimum for hanging but whose charge was later quietly reduced behind the scenes, enabling her to escape the noose because the German government made a deal with Singapore promising to invest huge sums of money there. Whereas even though the evidence was contentious and unreliable in many instances, Filipinas, Singaporeans, Malaysians and others, all ordinary people with neither wealth nor powerful connections were all promptly put to death.

The frightening message by Shadrake is this. Don't ever believe that you have any real security in Singapore if you just a nobody. The government can do anything to you, anytime they want, including putting you to death, because the law is entirely in their hands and there is simply nothing you can do. Remember that whenever you step into Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore.

The message in Shadrake's book cannot be more powerful than that, which is, the Singapore legal system is simply corrupt, and puts business and commerce above justice and fair play. The clear message is that in Singapore, if you are wealthy and well connected, you can do anything you want including drug trafficking, provided you have enough money and a country like Germany to back you all the way.

And that is why the powerful condemnation of the respected International Bar Association in 2008 which unequivocally stated among other unflattering things, that Singapore does not have the rule of law and that Singaporean judges are beholden to the Lee Kuan Yew government, could not have been more forcefully proven, once again, this time by Shadrake.

The reports state that Shadrake will be charged with criminal defamation and contempt of court in those kangaroo courts. I have every confidence he will not give in to these bullies and will plead not guilty to all charges. In the end, after the inevitable verdict of guilty, Shadrake will profit much more than Singapore ever would by exposing this whole shameful spectacle in another book, this time from outside Singapore.

Of course when it comes to Singapore, as in Alice in Wonderland, you might as well come out with the verdict even before hearing any evidence. Guilty as charged. They might as well dispense with the entire trial process because when you already know the verdict beforehand, you will agree that it all becomes rather boring.

We are all for you, Shadrake. Hang in there. Don't give in to these tin pot bullies. Tell them exactly what they are, which is, a bunch of cowards who strut around their tiny island in their hind legs, just because they have a compliant corrupt judiciary and a bunch of thugs in police uniforms to back them up.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
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Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

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