TR EMERITUS

译者：新加坡文献馆 亲爱的新加坡公民和朋友们， 我的名字是何元泰。我是土生土长的新加坡公民，我在好多年前就已经完成了我的全职国民服役。为了某些缘由我是以新加坡难民的身伤在伦敦生活了32年，但这并非我的选择。 如果你认为新加坡是属于某些部长的，他们拥有至高无上的神权可以决定那位新加坡人可以或不可以享有新加坡公民权并且持有新加坡护照，那么，我劝请你现在就停止阅读这封信，因为让你持续沉迷于你的精英活动应该是件更有意义的事情。 如果你认为新加坡是属于你的，新加坡是属于我的，以及新加坡是属于每一位新加坡人的，我们在国家宪法下都享有属于我们的平等公民权力和持有新加坡护照权力，那么，我希望你能抽出时间来阅读这封信，并且看看你可以做些什么。 1976 年12月新加坡大选后的一个星期左右，一组穿便衣的武装内安部（内部安全局）警务人员来到我在裕廊的家要逮捕我。我成功的突破封锁线逃走。在追捕的过程中 一名内安部人员追掏出手枪，指着我，并以福建方言高呼“不要跑，你再跑我就会开枪”。当我消失在我家后面的茅草丛里，几名持枪的内安部人员去到我的邻居家 中搜查。我受劝告为了我的人身安全有必要逃到其他地方寻求庇护。 在当时的工人党秘书长惹耶勒南和他的已故太太玛格列，以及其他人 士的协助下，我在1977年7月前往伦敦，那时我已在新加坡和马来西亚躲藏了6个月。当我抵达伦敦我立即寻求政治庇护。英国政府按国际法规接见我，并展开 调查以证实我的要求。在完成了一个很完整的彻底调查后，英国政府于次年正式批准了我的政治庇 护。我获得一份按联合国1951难民公约颁发的蓝色旅行证件，确实了我的难民身份。从1978年的11月起始我正式成为来自新加坡的难民。 虽然我做作为一名难民已远离了新加坡政府的视察范围，但这不表示他们不再关注我。他们的疑虑病态导致了1985年的宪法修正。这项宪法修正让政府有权力禠夺在国外生活超过10年并且在这期间不曾回国一次的任何一名公民的公民权。 就在修宪后的不久，我是仅两名新加坡人中的其中一人，收到了禠夺公民权通知书。政府企盼通过这种过程去消灭所有的政治挑战，包括我这名无杀伤性与薄弱的1976年大选候选人。 和惹耶勒南一道，我们决定上诉挑战公民权褫夺通知书，以作为取得国际社会关注这起有关新加坡违反基本人权事件的第一步行动。在这上诉的过程中，惹耶勒南因为其他的原因而被无理的剥夺了其执行法律事务的资格。称为查询委员会的上诉庭基于另觅新法律代表的理由将此上诉事件悬置。当惹耶勒南在最终上诉庭取得他自已的上诉胜利并恢复律师资格之后，他继续作为我的代表律师。在未知缘由的情况下，延迟了2年多的时间之后，内政部突然通知我们，他们已经决定撤回原有的公民 权禠夺通知书。为此，我保住了我的新加坡公民权，也依旧是居住在伦敦的一名新加坡难民。 从那时候开始，我不时的写信向有关当局查 询，看看他们可否发给我一份新加坡护照。所得到的回答一向来都是不行。他们的惯用理由是因为新加坡警察在通缉我，所以我不可以获得新加坡护照。他们从来没 有告诉我警察是为了什么事情要向我问话。由于新加坡不允许双重国藉，我只能继续难民身份以保住我是新加坡忠实之子的资格。 当我们的李总理在2007年尝试呼吁尊重人权以促进亚细安人权章程时，新加坡的主流传播媒体持续的以显著版位报导此事件。我想这应该是力图改变的讯息。我写信给 在英国的最高专员Mr. Michael Teo，向他询问我是否可以申请一份新加坡护照。出乎我的意料之外，此次的要求并没有被拒绝，反且寄了一份申请表格给我。我填写了表格也到最高专员办公室 办理打手印等等。最初，新加坡移民厅并不满意我所呈交的文件。在经过了2年的努力和获得我在伦敦的本地国会议员的书信解释，移民厅才接受了我所呈交的那些 他们索求的文件证明。 当移民厅对我呈交的文件证明感到满意后，我想我即将以一名普通新加坡人的身份使用新加坡护照去旅行，我于是 开始想到结婚就象其他的新加坡公民一样。我对这个新现象的激情，是由我们的李总理所推进的亚细安人权章程所引发，但这只是个假象。由于移民厅再也不能以我 的申请文件不妥当为理由拒绝签发护照，他们于是改口，认为他们所能做的只是‘如果你去向伦敦的新加坡最高专员申请，你可以获得一张身份证明书’。 我写信给移民厅询问为何不可以签发护照给我这名没有犯罪记录者？他们的单程身份证明书建议是一种歧视。在宪法下任何人都不可以受到歧视。任何有尊严的新加坡人都不会接受歧视。作为一名自豪的新加坡人，我是永远都不会接受任何具歧视意味的对待。 为了避免受到有歧视行为的指责，移民厅现在改变了回信内的说法。他们现在表示怀疑我那已经过期的原新加坡护照曾经在我离开新加坡时被非法的纂改。在这种情况下，如果我去申请他们或许会（不是必定会）签发一份身份证明书让我回返新加坡以便做进一步的调查。 我 对移民厅在2009年12月8日的单程通行证的建议提出询问，要求移民厅指出是根据宪法里的那些条款的规定，不能向我这般的人士签发新加坡护照。我也询问他们为何要不断的变动龙门？至今为止，移民厅还未做出回应。在伦敦的最高专员也证实那些经他们转交的书信并未丢失，而他们也同样未获得任何回应。新加坡最 高专员答应会为我继续跟进这件事。如今已经过了4个月的时间，移民办还未给予任何回复。 目前的状况已经有所不同。移民厅的无所回 应和不签发新加坡护照，已经不仅仅让我呆在新加坡境外成为一名难民。我现在有了一个儿子，他是于2009年12月在伦敦诞生。在新加坡宪法下基于新加坡人 后裔条款，他可认享受所有作为新加坡公民的一切权力。然而，根据移民厅寄给我的规则，移民厅是不会处理我儿子的公民权申请，除非我能够出示新加坡护照。实 际上，这表示我儿子要成为新加坡公民的权力已遭受无理的拒绝。我那在伦敦诞生的新加坡孩子，在技术上而言，此时此刻的他是无国藉人士。在伦敦的新加坡最高 专员亦对我证实了，他们也同样没有得到我在3个月前就我儿子的公民权而向移民厅提出进一步询问的任何回应。 我的妻子给了我一个最 后通牒，要求我在近日解决有关我们的孩子的新加坡公民权问题，要不然她会要求泰国或者英国的有关当局去解决这问题。我妻子的绝望是可以理解的，因为她想预 订机票回去探访她的国家但却因为我们的儿子没有公民身份和没有婴儿护照而被拖延。面对着我那伦敦诞生的新加坡孩子和我妻子的焦虑，使我更加感受到从未有过 的压力去尽快解决我的难民身份。 在处理为我儿子以新加坡人后裔注册为新加坡公民和为我自已申请新加坡护照的事件上我已用尽所有可行的方案，和官僚在公事的交涉已走到尽头。我现在唯一的有效方法是吁请你们这群新加坡人替我想方设法看看还有些什么其他途径。 我所期待的是： 1、在公开的法庭审讯 最 公正的解决有关我的护照申请事件是对我的所有指控进行法庭审讯，除了擅离职守的逃兵罪名之外（我在稍后时间再解释此事）。如果我确实在法律下犯了罪，我是 不应该拿到新加坡护照，那么，我会很乐意的结束整件事，我只能怪罪我自已。如果我没有犯法，那我不明白为何我不可以同其他任何一位新加坡人一样，享有同等 的权力去要求一份新加坡护照。 好多年前有几位好心肠的新加坡人在海峡时报为我争取这请求，但事情过后却不了了之。这回我希望有更多的新加坡人通过新科技为我发出更多的声音。当更多的人知道这件事情之后，我不相信政府可以长久虚伪的假装若无其事。 2、去收集更多其他不公正事件的资料 我 相信我所遭受到的不公正待遇并非是宗例外而是常见现象，虽然，所受到的不公正未必是同等程度，和都是涉及移民厅。如果你本身或者你知道有任何人有遭遇过象 我一般的不公正待遇，不论是涉及护照或者其他事项，我希望你能让我知道个中情况。我希望曾经遭遇过不公正对待的人可以集合一起做出更有力的集体上诉。我们 集中力量就可以看到改善。请写信给我[email protected]（我没有博客或者脸书） 3、写信给尚穆甘先生，法律部长与第2内政部长 尚 穆甘先生是直接负责移民厅事务的。他可以若无其事的完全对我不断写去的书信不理不睬，要求他重新审核移民厅的行政手法。他连基本的礼貌上知会复函亦没有发 过。但是，如果你们当中的许多人都给他写封信，他就有必要公开的解释为何移民厅在我的护照申请事件上要不断的变动龙门，和是谁在最后一刻出面干预以阻止给 我签发护照等等。这位新崛起的政治明星所要干的事涉及公众利益的问题。 4、写信给吴作栋资政 吴先生讲过一句名言，新加坡需要打死不跑的人（即便面临危机这些人的效忠永不动摇）。我有必要指出在这一骨节眼上我完全认同他的观点，那就是我们是一个什么样的国家取决于我们有什么样的人民。 吴先生知道新加坡需要什么样的人去组成我们的国家，我怀疑吴先生是否在这一类事务上享有最终的决定权？ 你个人认识吴先生吗？我们在思索是否要向他或其他人提出上诉？不知道提出更高层次的上诉是否有用？如果你知道政治高层是如何的运作，请告诉我们。 5、向新加坡武装部队上诉 我来自一个相信新加坡必须要有强大武装力量来保卫我们的自由和财产的家庭。我的大哥是军人，他在新加坡武装部队成立之前就已经参军，那时的武装部队是属于英殖民政府的，是用来阻止共产党占有马来亚（新加坡和东马来西亚）。我们全家上下都祝福与在道义上支持大哥从军。 当 我的三哥毕业时，他已超过了人伍国民服役的年限。他决定支持新加坡武装部队于是加入军队成为职业军人。他把毕生的工作精力贡献干新加坡武装部队。同样的， 我们一家人都为他的事业感到骄傲。我的全部侄子，当他们应招入伍时都以热忱与骄傲的心态去服役。对我而言，亦无例外。当我在中学时我加入新加坡警察部分时 间国民服役，过后，在我进入南洋大学之前，又加入全职的新加坡武装部队。我是以骄傲以热忱的心情服役新加坡武装部队。讽刺的是，如今在新加坡武装部队的记 录中我是一名擅离职守的逃兵。 我之成为擅离职守的逃兵，并非因为我从新加坡武装部队落跑以躲避上前线守卫国家。这事情发生在政府 撤回其禠夺公民权通知书的不久之后，这时我已离开了新加坡大约13年。为何突然之间宪兵被派到我父母的家向我母亲查询我的下落，并在公文册上记载我没有应 召回到新加坡武装部队后勤人员册上报到？新加坡武装部队在我离开新加坡13年之后对我还有真实的需要？为何政府在撤回禠夺公民权通知书后还有必要派遣新加 坡武装部队的宪兵到我父母的家？ 根据加坡法律，任何曾被罚款2000元，或者被囚禁12个月或更长时间的公民，会自动的被禁止参 加国会选举，为期5年。如果我回返新加坡，而政府无法罚我高额罚款或者不能把我长期囚禁，他们就可以利用擅离职守的逃兵记录来取消我参加国会选举的资格， 从而达成他们的目的。我相信这就是为什么我会有擅离职守的逃兵记录，但我希望我的这一想法是错误的。 我坚信新加坡应该做两件事来取得和平与稳定。一个是把新加坡建设为和平中心，作为谈论和平以及促进人类和平的中心。也许我们需要做的比瑞士更多，不仅仅是联合国文明的基地，亦提供各种方便以协助和平谈判的进行和安置不同的从事和平话动的非政府组织。 我 们需要开放我们的军事基地和设施让联合国领导的干预部队进行活动，不论那是为了维持和平或支援人道主义的目的。联合国需要一个有效的中立基地以便迅速的做 出在亚洲和中东地区的各种紧急情况的应对。如果这一想法能够被联合国接受，我们的国土上将会有多国部队的驻守。这些部队将会间接的给于我们一些保护。 在 帮助其他人实现和平的同时亦增强我们自己的安全，那无疑是一个值得探索的战略。但是，我们不能抱有幻想，认为一旦成为和平促进者，以及有了以联合国为首的 国际警察部队的常驻，那么，我们就会有一个安全与稳定的保证，这是因为国际政治的动向是很想象到的。我们只可以从我们自已的新加坡武装部队本身的坚强力量 取得安全保障。 要保有一个强而有效的战斗力，新加坡武装部队必须在政治上中立。新加坡武装部队绝对不可以让任何政党利用以达到个 人的自私目的。政党可以来来去去，那只是时间上的问题。新加坡武装部队必须永久的强盛，这有赖于来自在国内与在国外的新加坡人的支持。服完兵役后在没有出 国准证情况下离开了新加坡的人，他们是在情非得已下才会出此下策。 在以新加坡人后裔申请新加坡公民权时要求孩子的父亲持有出国准 证是一种自残行为。这将会减少新兵来源和他们的支持，况且这也有违公平。新加坡武装部队有必要检讨这一政策，因为这孤立了那些父母有意让他们的儿子在长大 后回国服兵役的一群人。我希望我的儿子长大后能帮助推广和平与人道主义，也要他继承我们家的传统，那就是不论现在或者将来都支持新加坡的强大武装力量。倘 若有一个不受欢迎的外来势力要侵犯我们，我会以我的儿子是新加坡武装部队中保家卫国的一名成员而感到自豪。 我在此诚恳的呼吁新加坡武装部队重新研讨其出国准证政策，和在政治上采取中立立场。 结论 谢谢你持续的阅读这封信。我不肯定你能够从此一事件中看出些什么状况？对我而言，此事件在其表面上来看是有关我和我要取得新加坡护照，同时也涉及我儿子在宪法下能够以新加坡人后裔的身份取得新加坡公民权，这一权力让位居高层的人士无理的阻挠。 然而，如果你回顾这33年来所发生过的种种事情的经历，你必定会了解这是有关他们与他们那怯懦的想方设法去阻挡一名以前的国会竞争者再次参与一个开放的国会政治。 我并非三头六臂，只是和你一样关心并爱护我们的新加坡的普通老百姓。为何要如此的对付我？ 我 是来自一个一贫如洗的家庭，在大巴窑的甘榜长大，那时那里没有公共交通，没有电和煤气供应。我们的家庭从新加坡发展中取得正面的利益。和其他新加坡人一样 我赞赏老一代的领导所取得的经济好处和生话环境的提升。我们感激这些成就。我愿意接受所有过去所受到的种种不公正待遇为必要的代价，这是以前的事，既往不 咎，让我们都忘记这些过去，为了更好的一面从新出发。 然而，令我们都忧心的是老一辈在消失中，其中的好多人已过世。但是新一代的 领导人，尤其是其中的新崛起明星，不理会世界已经完全改观，他们仍旧死守那些陈腐的教条规约，以过时的方法冶国，这使到他们失去支持与尊敬。他们完全没有 新鲜的思维和勇气去面对新生代的期许，这令人焦虑。 新生代认为国家建设与成就不单纯是经济方面的发展，这一想法是正确的。他们期 待的文化是更开放，信任，人道，社会正义，自由和公平；这些长期以来出现在替代媒体上的观点从来就没有得到尊重。基于新生代的期许，我在此呼吁你们给予协 助和去改变现状。我也认同大家的看法，那就是，群策群力必定成功。 何元泰 [email protected] 19 Claremont Road London NW2 1BP United Kingdom 2010年6月3日 何元泰在1976年以工人党身份竞选武吉班让国会议席，在大选后遭政府通缉，罪名是发表煽动性言语。 来源：https://www.tremeritus.net/2010/06/06/an-open-appeal-from-a-singaporean-refugee/  Read More →

Dear Temasek Review I refer to the letter “Jobless reader cried with Mum on Mother’s Day” by 44 year old former senior manager Mr Alvin Tan published in the Temasek Review on 18 May 2010. I had not written this commentary earlier as I had stopped reading Temasek Review for a while. For those who are not familiar with the letter, Mr Tan’s situation can be summarized as follows. Born in Singapore in 1966 (based on Gregorian year calculation and ignoring specific birthday), Mr Tan performed full-time National Service and presumably completed any reservist obligations if there was any. From the 1980s onwards, his career grew steadily and he rose to the position of senior manager. In 2009, he was retrenched. As of May 2010, he remained jobless. This prolonged unemployment was a complete reversal of his earlier career growth. It became very stressful for him and his mother. The only consolation was that he did not have to worry about maintaining a spouse and children. After reading through the letter, I would like to highlight one thing. This was a total lack of in depth pondering as to the reasons for his predicament. He lamented about the purpose of performing National Service and had mentioned about the huge influx of immigrants but did not seem to analyze the situation further. Based on my experience, he may wish to consider the following points if he has not done so. When he was performing both full-time and reservist National Service, did he truly think the ruling People’s Action Party and its allies (PAP Group) would give priority to those who had served? During my period of service, neither myself nor anyone around me had thought National Service would put us in an advantage.   As Mr Tan was a senior manager, was he involved in the hiring or promotion of people in the organization? If the answer was no, I agreed there was a limit to what he could do when the PAP Group started to bring in a huge influx of immigrants.   If he was involved in the hiring and promotion, then the problem would be more complicated. Did he hire, recommend or promote a significant number of younger foreigners between the ages of 21-35 in relevant organizations between 1997 and 2009? Did he find people who had reservist obligations (including reservist remedial training) an unnecessary burden?   In certain positions where females dominate, did he prefer to hire, recommend or promote younger unmarried foreign ladies with no children between the ages of 21 & 35? Was his criteria biased because he felt these ladies were physically attractive? Did he find older women with children of growing up age an unnecessary burden?   When local people started to reduce their job and salary expectations due to employment problems after 1997, did he view these people negatively? Was his response similar to “Why did such a high level person apply for such a low level boring job. He should aim higher, especially if he is younger.” Did he at the same time told someone at a higher level that there was still “a shortage of talent in Singapore”?   When younger local people in the workplace highlighted certain work-related problems, what was his reaction? To be fair, I do not expect him to solve everything. Did he start to think “younger local people nowadays are so pampered and demanding”?  When younger foreigners said the same thing, did he use this to argue that “foreigners are more innovative”?   When younger locals started to leave the organization after 1-2 years due to a desire for career advancement, did he use this to justify hiring more “foreign talent because locals are picky”? When older locals decided to stay on the job with no hope of career advancement, did he use the “need for renewal” to throw out these locals and hire more “young and innovative foreign talent”?   When economic problems began to occur after in 1997, did he continue to spend huge sums of money in order to go on expensive tours, enjoy expensive high class dining, drink at expensive pubs, upgrade to expensive real estate and maintain expensive girlfriends? I will not raise the issue of car ownership as he may need a vehicle for work purposes.     When the immigration influx issue was raised during the General Elections (GE) in 2001 and 2006, did he continue to vote for the PAP Group? Did he keep thinking the unemployment or underemployment problem would not affect him?   If the answer is no to all the above points, then I truly feel sorry for him. If the answer is yes to any of the points, it is regrettable that he has indirectly contributed to his problem. I understand my tone may be sarcastic but the points raised are due to my 10 years of experience in dealing with senior managers aged 40 and above. Some of them are very keen to bring in huge numbers of immigrants to displace locals. The idea that they themselves can be replaced is unthinkable until it has occurred.   Yours truly Mr Chua Yuankai The writer is a long-term underemployed and marginalized local-born Singapore citizen who once aimed to become successful in Singapore. Currently he is barely making ends meet.  Read More →

As I read through the recent Kallang and Selegie crimes that involved  foreigner workers, I wondered if Singapore is as safe as it was before. This also reiterated the common fear among many that merely mass importing foreign workers into our country for the sake of economics  will backfire in the long run. As I prepared for this article, I also read of how one 65-year-old golfer businessman Heng Jui How mysteriously drowned  last week in the 4m deep pond near  the 18-hole Sentosa Golf Club. Was foul play involved here? No one actually knows for sure and police is still investigating but it caps off a frightening  month whereby serious crimes dominated the headlines for the past few  days. What has become of our squeaky clean safe environment which we all take pride in? I remembered many years ago I used to go out in the middle of the night to have a quick meal at the 24-hour kopitiam downstairs when I was feeling hungry. I never felt that my safety would be compromised or that I need to be careful of my immediate surroundings. Our young daughter could also go out in the evening without us having to worry for her personal safety.  Unfortunately, the same could not be said now  due to the current crime wave. Just six years ago, we were all shocked  by  the murder of young 8-year-old Chinese national Huang Na (left picture) in  Oct 2004. Malaysian-born Took Leng How, a vegetable packer at the wholesale centre, was found guilty of murdering her and hanged after an appeal and a request for presidential clemency failed. The Malaysian was supposed to be a close friend whom she played with on numerous occasions. I was also particularly saddened by the news as Singaporeans read first-hand account of how foreigners tried to re-settle in a foreign land trying their best to rebuild their lives against all odds. Many single parents from China became peidu mama (accompanying mums) when they work hard to bring their children up in Singapore hoping that they  will have a better life abroad. Many peidu mamas end up engaging in illicit work such as masseurs or karaoke hostesses to make ends meet. Many S Pass work permit holders also took  up hefty  loans to move abroad and struggle to pay them back on  high-interest instalment plan. The financial stress is amplified as they struggle  to cope with our high cost of  living here.   Many simply have no choice but to moonlight illegally to earn an  extra income to supplement their meagre full-time day job. Overseas students from China also moonlight openly as karaoke hostesses further complicating the underground vice situation here. Many in fact come here primarily to earn a fast buck than seriously wanting to study to better their chances at rebuilding their lives abroad. Some become mistresses of our local men hoping for  a short quick path to prosperity.  Many have more than one sugar daddy. There are currently more than 50,000 foreign students studying here and they are not allowed to work on  a student’s visa.  Nevertheless, this has not deterred many from working illegally at night engaging in illicit sex activities. Feeing Safe No More It is  this safety reason that residents in Serangoon Gardens protested profusely against having  a  hostel meant for foreign workers  in their posh landed estate  in 2008. The original plan to convert an unused school – Serangoon Gardens Technical School into a foreign workers’ dorm went ahead anyway. The dorm will be able to house 1500 workers in future in a residential population of around 2000 at Serangoon Gardens. With the influx of foreigners and recent spate of serious crimes, the same sense of safeness could not be felt anymore. There are constantly  groups of foreign workers milling around our neighbourhood estates whispering quietly in their own languages at their own corner. Sometimes, they may give you a quick glance as you walk past but other than that they usually keep mainly to themselves. Nevertheless, their overwhelming presence makes one feel uncomfortable. Feeling safe in one’s environment is mostly psychological and once this  is breached, it is difficult for one to have  the same kind of safe feeling again. As I researched for this article, I was glad to know that Singaporean still surprisingly has a very low crime rate compared to many other developed countries. According to Overseas Security Advisory  Council (OSAC) ,  a global security news and report portal, the summary of our  crime and safety report remains sanguine: “Singapore, a city-state of 4.8 million people, remains among the safest countries in the world, and while final numbers for 2009 are not available as of this writing, statistics from the first six months of 2009 show an overall decrease in reported crimes of 1.3 percent from the same timeframe in 2008.  Specifically, statistics for the first six months of 2009 show a decrease in both violent property crimes (-23.7 percent) and crimes against persons (-4.2 percent), and an increase in theft and related crimes (2.5 percent) and housebreaking and related crimes (17.5 percent).” Many credit the low crime rate to the strict laws we have in place in our society. For example, any foreigner who brings in packs of chewing gum can actually be fined and even put in prison for up to a year if left undeclared.   Our prisons are  packed to the brim as people are being place in jail for all sorts of crimes. Many also wonder if our social graces can be improved as they are done out of fear rather than real behavourial changes. Capital Punishment = Low Crime According to the book “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger” by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett,  a survey among 23 rich nations found that Singapore has the second highest prison inmates per 100,000 people. The number one tag goes to to the United States.  We also carry our capital punishment by execution and this has remained a strong deterrence against drug trafficking and serious crimes. Singapore has the highest per-capita execution in the world between 1994 and 1999 – 13.57 executions per million population.  Despite serious lobbying by civil rights groups to abolish capital punishment, the government remains committed to its policy of maintaining capital punishment as a form of deterrance. One wonders if Singapore will suddenly be plunged into social unrest  if the death penalty is to be one day lifted. The following table of executions was compiled by Amnesty International from several sources, including statistics supplied by the Ministry for Home Affairs in January 2001 and government figures reported to Agence France-Presse in September 2003.[2] Numbers in brackets are the number of foreign citizens executed, according to information disclosed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. (source: Wikipedia)   Year Murder Drug-related Firearms Total 1991 19 5   26 1992 13 7 1 21 1993 10 2   7 1994 21 54 1 76 1995 20 52 1 73 1996 10 {7} 40 {10}   50 1997 {3} 11 {2} 1 15 1998 4 {1} 24 {5}   28 1999 8 {2} 35 {7}   43 2000 4 {2} 17 {5}   21 2000   23     2001   22     However, in crime-ridden third world countries like Bangladesh and India, people commit crimes regularly and may not adjust readily yet to the way we operate as a society.  They brought into our society  their own customs and world  views and if integration policies are not carry out properly,  we may have societal fragmentation which existed  in migrant-friendly countries such as United States and Australia. Australia for decades used to  embraced refugee-migrants to its shore until they found that that many are actually hardcore criminals that have fled their country on the run. Moreover, a lack of integration has segregated migrants into different hotspots nuch to the dismay of the authorities. Migrants have actually set up their own township and mini-Vietnam, Hong Kong, Iraq, China and even Singapore have sprouted up all over Sydney. However, in Singapore, if committing serious crimes belong  mostly to those carrying unskilled work permits, then their stay will  not be permanent and hopefully when they leave our country after a short work stint, their unhealthy influence will leave with them. Many of the murder cases also involved illegal sex workers and it may be wise for the police to regularly round them up in sex hotspots at Geylang or Balestier. Most of the serious crimes so far were committed against other foreigners but  if left unchecked  I am pretty sure that they will spill over to our local citizens. I have randomly picked  some serious crimes committed by our  foreign workers during the past few years and it made uncomfortable reading:- 1. March 2010 The remains of Filipino tourist Roselyn Reyes Pascua, 30, who was found dead in a Singapore lodging house, on 15 March 2010, was repatriated on Friday to her hometown in Laguna. Representatives of OWWA assisted Ms. Pascua’s relatives in the release of her remains at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. A prayer session and blessing, officiated by Filipino priest Fr. Angel Luciano, had earlier been held in Singapore, attended by Philippine Embassy Consul General Neal Imperial, Vice-Consul Jed Martin Llona and members of the Filipino community in Singapore. On 19 March, Indian national Gopinathan Nair Remadevi Bijukumar, 34, was arrested and charged with murder for Ms. Pascua’s death. If convicted, Mr. Bijukumar faces the death penalty. Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda Calaguian Cruz promised to continue monitoring the developments of the case. “The Philippine Embassy in Singapore shall closely coordinate with the Singapore Police Force in its investigation to ensure that justice is served for the relatives of Ms. Pascua,” she said. 2. March 2010 THE naked body of a young Chinese woman was found drowned in a lap pool of a bungalow in an exclusive residential estate in Sentosa Cove on Wednesday morning. The body of Ms Li Hong Yan, 24, was found by a maid who was cleaning the three-storey house along Ocean Drive at about 8.30am. Paramedics pronounced her dead at about 9.30am. Ms Li is believed to have spent the night at the house with its owner, after they met at a party. While little is known about how she drowned, police said that there was no indication of injuries on her body. Police have classified the case as an unnatural death. Ms Li Hong Yan, 24, had come from China and was working two jobs – as a part-time karaoke hostess, and as a catering supervisor in an Indian restaurant.   Written by: Gilbert Goh  Read More →