Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Whether Singapore will give Swiss graffiti artist a beating.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore has got away handsomely so far with their brutality in routinely beating their people (Singapore's term is caning) so far, as long as it is inflicted on their own helpless citizens, with the exception of one foreigner American Michael Fay in 1994.

Treating their own citizens worse than animals, (even animals are not allowed to be beaten), beating and hanging them even for petty crimes in Lee Kuan Yew's one party state is the normal way of life.

Singaporeans are defenceless in a legal system where they have no say at all, and where the outside world rarely ever finds out what brutality goes on there.

However treating foreigners this way, especially those from the Western world is a little more tricky.

Oliver Fricker is one such case.

He was recently arrested for drawing graffiti on a Singapore train. Oliver Fricker however is not Singaporean. He is a Swiss national. And what is more, he is a very important person, none other than a Senior Financial Consultant.

For the offence of vandalism in the Singapore one party legal system, the law requires Fricker not only to jailed but also brutally beaten until his buttocks are flayed in a mess of blood and flesh. Singapore and the Islamic Republic of Iran among others are the few countries that still resort to such barbarity under the name of the law.

Hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans have already been subjected to this barbarity but since they are helpless in Lee Kuan Yew's one party state, their voices are not heard and they continue to suffer in silence.

But Fricker is not a helpless Singaporean under the yoke of Lee Kuan Yew.

If Singapore beats Fricker, especially an important person from a Western country, Singapore would have to pay a price. After the beating Fricker would go to town with his story, and people in the rest of the world who have not yet heard of Lee Kuan Yew's excesses in that tiny island will hear of it the first time.

Singapore's desperate attempt to paint it as a democracy will suffer yet another blow. Tourism will go down, foreign students will drop. Investments will drop. And Singapore will feature as a regular topic on all the comedy shows on America TV.

Beating Fricker will end up being much more pain than letting him go.

So here's the game plan, which Singapore uses every time when they find themselves in this sort of a quandary.

Fricker under his Singaporean lawyers instructions, of course from orders from the Lee Kuan Yew government itself, would claim that he has a preexisting back injury which would be aggravated if he is to be beaten. The judge would immediately accept this medical excuse as a reason to spare Fricker of the beating. Instead of both jail and the beating, Fricker would only serve a short time in jail, which would be suspended. After which Fricker would go home, with Lee Kuan Yew hoping that he would not make an issue of it hereafter.

I bet on it, Fricker would walk away with such leniency, all because he is a Swiss citizen. Had he been a regular Singaporean, the ordinary guy, whom Lee Kuan Yew refers to as his "digits" it would of course be another story.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Democracy does not mean that one can do anything he wants.

That guy did not had any business to paint the train, even though it looks so artistic. But still it is vandalism.

He knew that he is staying in Singapore, and he knows what will be the punishment he would receive. But still he choose to do what he has done, and now should face the consequence.

I fully support Govt and ask to meet out the required punishment as per Law, so that such vadalism will not be repeated by others.

Long live Democracy and down to Vandalism of any kind.

Gopalan Nair said...

To anonymous of Tue Jun 08, 07:16:00,

You required punishment of beating (caning) is unacceptable in civilized countries. Which is why I am criticizing your Singapore. Which is why millions in civilized countries condemn it too.

Anonymous said...

To anonymous.

You miss the point completely. Countries practising democratic way of govertment does not punish their citizen or anyone with brutality or torture.

Alas! Another LEE book out said...

I was in Singapore recently to attend a wedding.

As far as I know, nothing has changed there. The Straits Times still sound like a warning letter from the govt to its readers, commanding them what to do.

The people attending the wedding banquet sound like people who think they will live good lives by keeping to the simple rule of living, which is "PAP will provide you with a good life so long as you remain loyal and obedient to the country (meaning do not question the Party)"

Unlike the complaints about the way the dinner was organised, everyone will look the another way when the PAP mess up.

This perhaps best explain the reaction of Singaporeans to the Swiss/Briton tagging. Compared to the award given to the PM's wife for economic "vandalism", I think the smell of double standard is too strong for a country that market itself as a justice hub for for "corrupt" asia.

Meanwhile, I wonder how long a govt can rule by fear.

Anonymous said...

Long live democracy? Yes but not in poor Singapore.

Long live fascism for you Singapore!

Just another third world country albeit with seemingly astonishing GDP per capita.


Renaldi

Unknown said...

Isn't there a double standard here where democracy is being trumpeted on one hand, while what you are essentially asking is for the imposition of the value system of other countries to counter a law that has been enacted via parliament which is the democratic representative of the people?

There's problems yes, but we can talk about those problems without resorting to useless broadsides like democracy or the lack thereof.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to digress.

I'm quite curious about the conclusion of your removal from the Singapore Bar...please do update on that topic.

Thanks.

Gopalan Nair said...

To Anonymous,

No need to be sorry for the digression at all. The hearing is fixed to be in September and I expect to be disbarred from the SINGAPORE BAR, soon thereafter.

Nothing is happening now with the case but as soon as something happens, I will be writing about it.

Gopalan Nair said...

To Leon,

In answer to your post, please see my comments on my earlier post "Singapore. A defence for Oliver Fricker, the brave Swiss graffiti artist" of June 6, 2010.

Sunny said...

Nair

I hope Singapore judge will give maximum 3 stroke of rattan to the Swiss grafitti artist's buttock.

So when he goes back to Swiss he can tell what is Singapore all about.

JT said...

(Side track)

Tonight, I watched a documentary AFTER MANDELA, and looked at how Jacob Zuma took control of South Africa out of the hands of former friend and President Thabo Mbeki.

2 points strike me.

1. When a local interviewee commented about Mbeki having the problem inflicting other African nations - He thinks he is indispensable and does not know when to leave the Presidency.

2. The judiciary make the call that Mbeki is trying to use the justice system to achieve his political aims. The wise judge threw out the case that is suspected of being designed to stop Zuma from being a political rival candidate to Mbeki re-election. He stated the timing of the case brought to court as one of the major reason for his decision.

Singapore has a lot to learn about democracy and keeping the bastards honest.

Anonymous said...

free banos

Anonymous said...

hi guys.. you know they caught the wrong person? LOL...

Banos and Mckoy just did this yesterday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5htwY2bopg