Singapore
26.09.03
Urgent Interventions
Singapore: imminent execution of Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam
Case SGP 260903
Death penalty
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Singapore.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), a member of the OMCT network, of the case of Arun Prakash Vaithilingam, a 25 years old Indian national, who has been scheduled to be executed on October 3rd, 2003 in Singapore.
According to the information received, Mr. Vaithilingam, a migrant worker who had been living in Singapore since December of 2000, was convicted by a Singapore court in December of 2002 for the murder of his room-mate in December 2001.
In the evening of December 22 2001, Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam stabbed his room-mate during a drunken argument. Eyewitness testified to the fact Arunprakash Vaithilingam and several of the persons present immediately took the wounded man to the hospital. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam has stated that that he did not intend to stab his room-mate and that he had not immediately realized that he had done so.
Nevertheless, the Singapore High Court convicted Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam for murder. In Singapore the death penalty is mandatory for murder.
OMCT considers the death penalty to be a violation fo the right to life and the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
The International Secretariat of OMCT therefore calls upon the authorities to immediately commute the death sentence handed down to Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Singapore urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam’s physical and psychological integrity;
ii. immediately commute Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam’s death sentence;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President S R Nathan, Office of the President, Istana Annexe, Singapore 238823, Fax: + 65 6738 4673
· Minister of Law, Prof. S. Jayakumar, Ministry of Law, 100 High Street, The Treasury #08-02, Singapore 179434, Fax: + 65 6332 8842
· Attorney General Chan Sek Keong, Attorney General's Chambers, 1 Coleman Street #10-00, Singapore 179803, Fax: + 65 6332 5984
· Chief Justice Yong Pung How, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Building, St Andrew's Road, Singapore 178957
· Ambassadeur Vanu Gopala Menon, ICC - Bloc G- Pré-Bois 20 - CP 1910, CH-1215, Genève 15, Suisse, e-mail : singpmg@planet.ch, fax: +4122 929 66 58
Please also write to the embassies of Singapore in your respective country.
Geneva, September 26th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Death penalty
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Singapore.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), a member of the OMCT network, of the case of Arun Prakash Vaithilingam, a 25 years old Indian national, who has been scheduled to be executed on October 3rd, 2003 in Singapore.
According to the information received, Mr. Vaithilingam, a migrant worker who had been living in Singapore since December of 2000, was convicted by a Singapore court in December of 2002 for the murder of his room-mate in December 2001.
In the evening of December 22 2001, Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam stabbed his room-mate during a drunken argument. Eyewitness testified to the fact Arunprakash Vaithilingam and several of the persons present immediately took the wounded man to the hospital. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam has stated that that he did not intend to stab his room-mate and that he had not immediately realized that he had done so.
Nevertheless, the Singapore High Court convicted Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam for murder. In Singapore the death penalty is mandatory for murder.
OMCT considers the death penalty to be a violation fo the right to life and the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
The International Secretariat of OMCT therefore calls upon the authorities to immediately commute the death sentence handed down to Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Singapore urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam’s physical and psychological integrity;
ii. immediately commute Mr. Arun Prakash Vaithilingam’s death sentence;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President S R Nathan, Office of the President, Istana Annexe, Singapore 238823, Fax: + 65 6738 4673
· Minister of Law, Prof. S. Jayakumar, Ministry of Law, 100 High Street, The Treasury #08-02, Singapore 179434, Fax: + 65 6332 8842
· Attorney General Chan Sek Keong, Attorney General's Chambers, 1 Coleman Street #10-00, Singapore 179803, Fax: + 65 6332 5984
· Chief Justice Yong Pung How, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Building, St Andrew's Road, Singapore 178957
· Ambassadeur Vanu Gopala Menon, ICC - Bloc G- Pré-Bois 20 - CP 1910, CH-1215, Genève 15, Suisse, e-mail : singpmg@planet.ch, fax: +4122 929 66 58
Please also write to the embassies of Singapore in your respective country.
Geneva, September 26th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.