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If he has any sort of conscience, Nguyen's brother will have a heavy burden carry for the rest of his life. Nguyen was naive and stupid, and stupidity often carries with it a death penalty, whether exacted by the state or otherwise. It is not morally justifiable that he should perish at the end of a rope in Singapore, his last act of the world to defecate himself, the only protest the condemned man has left. These high profile cases should prompt not debate about Singapore law, but Australian law with regards drug decriminalisation. After all, Nguyen claimed to be smuggling heroin to pay for his brother's legal fees in association with drug charges he faced in Australia. Stupidity, thy name is Nguyen. Interestingly, the BBC ran a story today about Howard et al making last minute appeals to Singapore, with claims about it harming relations between the two peoples. I can't see it having any long term consequences though, with a fair proportion of Australians using Singapore as a springboard for overseas travel. Singapore Airlines will still be my first choice for long haul flights.
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