What is Singapore thinking?

Years ago, I interned in Singapore. At TCS, the Television Corporation of Singapore, I had the time of my life. We worked, we partied, we ate, played Mahjong, and occasionally took a trip to Malaysia. Behind the shiny layer of perfection, sadness was hidden. My Malaysian landlady's husband was not allowed back into the country because he had driven without a license. I was mostly afraid of the 500 dollar fine you would get if you had chewing gum on you. And the story went that if you ignored the red traffic light three times, you would be put in a cage at a busy intersection for a day. Whether that is true, I don't know, but it instilled enough fear to always wait neatly for the green light. Even if there was not a dog in sight on the street, Big Brother seemed to keep an eye on us everywhere.

Singapore does not shy away from heavy penalties. The death penalty still exists there. And what a penalty it is. There, as if you were in the Middle Ages, you can still be hanged. It is said that between 1991 and now, 400 people have died by hanging. The next on the agenda is Nagaenthran Dharmalingam. He is 33, comes from Malaysia, and has an IQ of 67. This is also referred to as mildly intellectually disabled. This boy smuggled 43 grams of heroin into the country 12 years ago. He was 19 at the time. Now I have a mildly intellectually disabled daughter with a comparable IQ level. She would gladly carry six kilos in her backpack for you if you promised her a Dora cake.

It is also said that the boy was threatened with violence to do this. And that boy is now facing the death penalty by hanging?

Tomorrow will be his last day.
I hope that someone in Singapore comes to their senses today and in the meantime realizes how lucky I am that I never accepted that job after that internship.