With regard to the death penalty, in 2001 China executed 2,468 prisoners. Australia is currently in serious discussions with China about establishing a FTA. Should we cancel those talks based on the government of China's sanguinary profile and its love of the law of talion?

Do you have to be conservative to support the death penalty? Judging by the support for the death penalty in the media and reflected in a couple of straw polls it would seem that people of different 'faiths' put the lie to that belief. Even the 'peasants', not known as conservatives, would seem to support the death penalty.

Ooops! I'm straying into real democracy here - rule by the majority - so I'd better stop now.

None of the people pleading for Singapore to change its law for the sake of a foreigner appear to have considered the consequences of their proposal. They are claiming that an Australian who commits a crime in another country should be punnished according to our rules not theirs. And it would naturally follow that foreign nationals who commit a crime in australia should be punished according to the law of their country of origin. Do I then take it that a Saudi national who was caught shop lifting should have their hand cut off courtesy of the Australian legal system? And what if the foreigner came from a country that had no paedophillia laws? Would they be free to bugger litle boys at will and receive only the sanction accorded for the crime in his own country (nil). Where will it stop? With Fijian police checking for Fijian gays at the next Mardi Gras? With the stoning of female Afganis for not wearing the burqua in George St. Or are they just looking for one law for Australians and another for foreigners?

I'm sure there are a lot of mothers of dead heroin users that will be quite happy to see any drug trafficker hung in ANY country. Not to mention victims of burglaries and bashings by drug users. Why should we waste money on keeping alive people that think it's okay to supply the drug that will murder many people so they can make some money? We should get a bit tougher on dealers and traffickers over here too.
And Singapore has REALLY BIG SIGNS all over the place letting you know quite clearly that you will be hung if you are caught trafficking drugs. Can they be any more fairer than that. We will hang you unless of course your mother cries then we better not incase we upset someone? Oh yeah WE WONT HANG ANYONE IF THEY ARE NOT TRAFFICKING DRUGS. so what is the problem here? Dont deal with drugs and you wont get hung. Its REALLY SIMPLE no one gets hung if they dont commit the crime. Singapore is not the criminal here, the drug trafficker is.

One has to wonder if the children, siblings, loved ones of all these bleeding heart pollies, lawyers and generally "outraged" wonderkind were to die of overdoses or end up inprison for crimes committed to feed their drug habits, would the above be so bloody sanctimonious?
If their aged parents were beaten up by addicts breaking into their homes to steal whatever cash they could get their hands on, would they say,"Tut, Tut"
If their beloved child died in a public lavertory with a needle in the arm, would they be moved at all?
Or would they demand a minutes silence and flags shown at half mast for the vermin that caused it all?
What hypocrits.

Trade sanctions are a frivolous idea. If we told Singapore that we wouldn’t trade with them any more, they’d laugh. What could be done has been done. Half-heatedly maybe, but there are no more realistic measures.

This case along with Corby and Leslie shows how superficial our media is. Corby is a young, surfie looking chick, Leslie is a model and Nguyen is “baby faced”.

Many other Australians have been executed overseas yet we never heard about any of them.

One that particularly comes to mind was an Australian in Vietnam who was tried an executed within two days!

Jenben,

”Dont deal with drugs and you wont get hung. Its REALLY SIMPLE no one gets hung if they dont commit the crime. Singapore is not the criminal here, the drug trafficker is.”

You’re right. It really IS that simple. No one argues that.

But contrary to your last point, the Singaporean government is also the criminal here due to their relations with drug lords. I would argue that their hypocrisy and bigger role in the drug trade; along with the fact that they are supposed to be running a country and practising what they preach, makes them an even BIGGER bunch of crooks than the dealers and middle-men of the drug trade.

They can hang Nguyen if that’s what’s needed. But if they do, then they will also need to hang themselves.

If it wasn’t for the likes of their drug lord buddies, Nguyen wouldn’t have even had any drugs to be hanged for.

There was an commission investigating the claims of an opposition member of the SIngapore Parliament accusing Singapore Governtment dealing with drug barons. Some how the Opposition member withdraw his comments and the public commission was closed.

End of the day, it seems the Media is playing up with that accusation that happened in the 1990s.

1) The Media should focus on other things like: nuke was exploded in atolls near australia and in australia. media should investigate how it is affecting people, aboriginals and fauna in general.
2) Australian Street Children
3) Cane toads
4) Unions taking over australia.
5) Abolishing Prisons; introduce home prison systems; ankle guard. Walk out of zone, ankle guard explodes...muahahaha..