Law and mercy

This letter would perhaps be better addressed to a Singapore newspaper, but since it was in The Jakarta Post that I read a news brief about a Hong Kong citizen convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore and given a temporary reprieve (not a pardon) from his death sentence, I am writing you with hopes that someone from Singapore might read it.

For over fifteen years I have been a frequent visitor to Singapore. I have had encounters and conversations with a countless number of its citizens, and consider one of them, an ordinary man, as a close friend (I do not cheapen the meaning of friendships with an inflation of their number). While most foreigners' comments regarding Singapore are about either its superb cleanliness and user friendly efficiency (mainly from tourists) or its equally efficient enforcement of harsh parental laws (mainly from foreign media and not a few expatriate residents), I for one would like to state that I believe Singapore's government, however authoritarian, genuinely works as best it can towards the good of its citizenry, most remarkably evidenced by a near total absence of bureaucratic corruption, a fact made even more astounding by the average Singaporean's unabashed pursuit of material wealth.

So what does this praise have to do with the death sentence of a man convicted of drug trafficking? To answer let me tell a tale: a man of a pleasant and prosperous kingdom is convicted of treason and is sentenced to die. His mother seeks an audience with the beloved king and begs for mercy. The king regally proclaims, "That evil lawbreaker does not deserve mercy." The mother humbly replies, "Oh sir, if he deserved it, then it would not be mercy."

A reduction of rattan lashes due to external political pressure is not mercy. A temporary reprieve from a death sentence is not mercy. The Singapore government does have a legal channel to grant mercy via a petition to the president. Yet these petitions seem repeatedly to be denied with the reasoning "The law must be upheld. This person does not deserve mercy." Of course not, for if the petitioner deserved mercy, then the granting of pardon would be justice, not mercy.

I ask the Singapore government, and in particular the president who has the sole and final decision over petitions, to temper authoritarianism with money. I ask them not to confuse a granting of mercy with a tolerance of law breakers. I ask them not to confuse a granting of mercy with an acquiescence to external bullying on human rights. I ask them not to dismiss mercy as a cultural concept alien to Singapore. I ask them to realize that the principle and practice of mercy has rung strongly throughout all of history, regardless of race or religion. I ask them to realize that the granting of mercy has always distinguished a just society. I ask them -- and in particular the president -- to display moral fiber that grants mercy, even though morality has been abused.

This man from Hong Kong does not deserve mercy, for no one in all time has deserved mercy. Yet I beg on his behalf: mercy, mercy, mercy.

RICHARD LEWIS

Denpasar, Bali