Erc
Junior Chimp
Posts: 5,823
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« on: January 26, 2005, 01:47:32 AM » |
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Stop the Singapore-bashing, already...
Mr. Fay, if I remember correctly, was the American teen who got caned back in '94. If you're still outraged about that...then you don't know much about Singaporean culture.
The teen severely vandalized a Mercedes Benz. Serious damage to the car. Now, here, that may not be such a big deal. But in Singapore, due to shipping costs and various taxes, an average car costs over $100k (US)...so a Mercedes has got to cost nearly $200k. A Mercedes, therefore, is a major status symbol in Singapore...you don't cut off a Mercedes in traffic, let alone vandalize it.
So crimes of such a nature are taken quite seriously in Singapore, and he was given the punishment that the law provides. The fact that he's an American makes no difference...this isn't 19th Century China, there's no extraterritoriality here. If you think four whacks of the cane is too draconian a punishment, well that's your opinion. But it's not torture, it's subsequent punishment. And it's certainly not worth a violent Marxist revolution.
Don't get me wrong, there are serious problems with freedoms in Singapore. But the popular impression that it is a police state is quite simply wrong.
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