by Ted Sherman

Created on: June 10, 2008

There has been much criticism in so-called democracies about the harsh death penalty system practiced by the city-state of Singapore. Unlike many tourist cities of the world, including Hong Kong, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Paris and London, you don't have to worry about being attacked while walking along its squeaky-clean streets at night. You don't need to worry about being attacked in your hotel room, nor being robbed anywhere else in Singapore.

Of course, tourists must respect and follow Singapore's strict laws of behavior. In many cities of the Orient, spitting or urinating on the streets is common practice. While in the service, I spent a year in another beautiful city, Manila, but I never was comfortable seeing how people ignored the most basic practices of courtesy and cleanliness. If you do it in Singapore, you may get a couple of nights in the hoosegow and a fine of several hundred U.S., Canadian or Australian dollars.

Several years ago, an American college student thought it would be fun to vandalize cars in Singapore. He was caught and sentenced to time in jail and a session of whiplashing. His wealthy parents tried to buy off the local officials, but the student had to pay for his thoughtlessly-juvenile pranks.

As for the death penalty, in Singapore, the rules are just about the same as they are in other civilized countries. The difference is, that if you commit murder in the U.S., and are sentenced to death, you can count on at least ten years of prison living paid by taxpayer money, while endless court hearings, accompanied by overpriced lawyers who are paid by taxpayers. Before the usual sentenced murderer is put to death, and it seldom ever happens, the cost to taxpayers runs into millions of wasted dollars.

The death penalty has become virtually meaningless in the U.S. Today, our city is having a public burial service for a 35-year-old policeman who was gunned down last week by an out-on-parole offender. The killer, who had a criminal record that went back a dozen years, had a house full of illegal weapons, and when officers approached to answer a complaint, he opened fire without warning. You know this man should never have been back on the streets in the first place, and he will live long enough through legal complications to know the policeman's little children will become adults without a father.

What would have happened in this case if the crime had been committed, and the sentenced killer hanged within two weeks of the murder. If it happened in Singapore, there would be some editorials in international news about how cruel the harsh city laws are. If it happened in the U.S., on the night of the execution, thousands of protesters would go to the jail to march, sing, shout and wave signs about how the poor criminal's civil rights were being violated. Well, about the policeman's family? Too bad. They should have known he was in a dangerous profession.

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