SINGAPORE DEFENDED

Re: Singapore's Rough Justice, editorial, Dec. 6.

I have some familiarity with the Singaporean justice system and the
attitudes of Singaporeans to it. I don't share your sympathy for the
recently executed Australian drug trafficker, nor do I agree with the
implications of your editorial that Singapore's justice system is
arbitrary, anti-democratic or brutish.

First, anyone flying to Singapore would have to be blind to miss the
warnings clearly printed in multiple languages on the customs cards
issued on airplanes before landing, saying that possession or
trafficking of illegal drugs or firearms is punished by the death
penalty. The warnings are repeated on large signs as one leaves the aircraft.

Drop containers are even provided on arrival at Changi airport where
contraband can be discarded anonymously without penalty, no questions
asked. To continue further could only imply a firm resolve to traffic
in drugs despite the known penalty.

The Singaporean system of justice closely adheres to international
standards of fairness, jurisprudence, rules of evidence and rights
for the accused. In fact, expatriates in Singapore have often rated
the Singaporean justice system superior in fairness and efficiency to
many Western justice systems.

Far from being a police state, Singapore is an open, safe society in
which large, peaceful gatherings are common. On the one occasion when
I observe a disturbance by a drunken individual, the usual complaint
that "you can never find a cop when you need one" was on everyone's lips.

The harsh penalties meted out to offenders reflect a widely held
belief in this predominantly Chinese culture in the value and
necessity of law and order and a general unwillingness to entertain
excuses for misbehaviour.

Dr. David Fermor

Calgary.