The following post may be too heavy for this site. If it is so, my sincere apologies to my gracious host, Kimberly. It is never my intention to impose my views on anyone, I just hope to create awareness and give everyone some food for thoughts.
Took’s appeal dismissed, death term upheld for Huang Na’s murder.
I am against Capital Punishment!
I know that with my lone voice, there is little I can achieve. However, I want to raise awareness on this issue. Maybe someday with enough voices, the laws may be changed.
Things do not happen overnight. The first step I hope to see is to abolish Capital Punishment as a mandatory punishment. When the accused is found guilty of murder (or drug trafficking), there is only one punishment now - death by hanging.
As in Took’s case, one of the three appeal judges has doubt on the cause of death. Justice Kan Ting Chiu said “My conclusion is that the appellant’s conviction for murder should be set aside, as there was reasonable doubt whether she died as a result of the fit. In place of that, the appellant should be convicted for an offence of voluntarily causing hurt… as corroborated by the post-mortem findings.” (The Straits Times, 26 January 06)
Shouldnt the benefit of the doubt be awarded to the accused? People! Death is irreversible!
I feel that the fact that Took surrendered himself demonstrated his remorse but it counted to nothing during the trial. If he had chosen to stay away, I can say that he would never have been caught. He made a choice to stand trial and on hindsight, it is a deadly mistake.
Surely if the punishment is not mandatory under the law, the doubt casted by Justice Kan and Took’s surrender would have entitled Took to a less severe punishment.
This is a controversial issue, there is no right or wrong. Feel free to express your personal opinions. If you like to read what I have to say, see: I am against Capital Punishment, Taking a Life, Something is not right and Nguyen Tuong Van.
spiller said:
on January 27, 2006 at 11:52 am
I’m agree with you on Took’s case.
However, I still think capital punishment is valid, if it’s really proven guilty of course.
GhOsT: Thank you! I hope the first step is doing away with it as a mandatory punishment.
xlx said:
on January 27, 2006 at 1:09 pm
What about capital punishment for drug trafficking? Are you against that too?
GhOsT: Yes, I am against any form of capital punishment. All these criminals are a product of our society, therefore we cannot just silence them and pretend everything is alright. With regards to drugs, those caught and hanged are the mule. The bosses are enjoying their ill-gotten luxuries out there. Is it fair?
Dabido(Teflon) said:
on January 27, 2006 at 4:06 pm
Well, I am with you that Capital Punishment is wrong. Especially the hypocracy of killing someone because they took a life because taking life is supposedly wrong.
From what I read recently, Singapore is reviewing it’s stand on the death penalty. Not sure how true that is, but would be good if Singapore joins the rest of the majority of first world countries in doing away with it.
I was reading recently a biologist who was saying that he believed humans were like machines, and as such, if a machine was malfunctioning you’d fix it, so he thought Capital Punishment was like throwing away machines which were fixable.
Though I disagree that humans are like machines, I still think keeping ‘malfunctioning’ humans alive for study is better than killing them and hoping that one day people stop doing stupid things like killing other people …
Most people who want a death penalty don’t seem to see the value in using the ‘malfunctioning’ ones in order to prevent others from ‘malfunctioning’.
As they say, there is only two reasons for Capital Punishment, one is the convenience factor (cheaper to kill them than to keep them alive) and the other is the revenge factor (as a way of getting back at them for what they did).
And once you kill them, then they haven’t learnt a thing … and if you kill them and find out they were innocent, then you are as bad as the murderers as you ahve killed innocent people. (And it still happens to this day that innocent people are executed).
GhOsT: Sillypore is reviewing the method of execution, but if enough people are aware of this issue of capital punishment, someday, I believe things can be changed.
lil princess said:
on January 27, 2006 at 8:29 pm
i know you’re against capital punishment . but i think that all the points you made are invalid . for example that australian boy that was put to death . he was put to death because he was trafficing drugs , he did not intent to use them himself . and with this guy who decided to murder a little chinese girl , if there is reasonable doubt , he cannot be sentenced to death . so what if he turned himself in ? does it mean that 7 year old girl gets her life back ? all turning himself did was save the government’s money as they did not have to go about looking for him . Benefit of doubt ? are you kidding me ? we’re talking about court cases here . u cannot just relax someone’s sentence because you “feel” that they have changed or that they didn’t do it . In court , you are void of emotion. yes admittedly law is about both rules and principals , but deciding that this man should get a lesser sentence just because he turned himself in ? study the mind of convicted murderers ? there are plenty of them that aren’t on the death row .
GhOsT: Thank you! I respect your views.
Andrew said:
on February 15, 2006 at 1:58 pm
I am against capital punishment.
If Australia decided to make us their eighth state, I support that move wholeheartedly. It will bring about a better future as capital punishment will vanish into the history books.
Ryden said:
on October 24, 2006 at 3:07 pm
I saw this on the internet, but have you guys ever considered that he took a person life leaving the poor little girl’s mother alone crying. Is it fair for the girl? Took did tried to run away before he came back. He is trying to hide but he felt guilty. If he got the guts to do that, he should face the music.
Read the following case about took that I saw from the internet.
Huang Na
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Singapore in 2005 edit
Events
117th IOC Session
Avian influenza prepareness
Dengue outbreak
Huang Na murder case
Hurricane Katrina relief effort
Kashmir earthquake relief effort
NKF controversy
National Day Parade
Police MRT Unit established
Presidential election
Execution of Van Tuong Nguyen
Others
Current events in Singapore
Counter-terrorism in Singapore
Integrated Resorts proposal
Singapore Flyer proposal
Huang Na (Chinese: 黄娜; pinyin: Huáng Nà; 1996 – 10 October 2004) was an eight-year old Chinese national found dead in a cardboard box at Telok Blangah Hill Park in Singapore. Huang Na disappeared on 10 October 2004 which led to a nationwide search that stretched to Malaysia before her body was found 3 weeks later. The police arrested the prime suspect, a 22 year old Malaysian Took Leng How. On 26 August 2005, Took was found guilty for the murder and sentenced to death.
Contents [hide]
1 Disappearance
2 Nationwide search
3 The murder
4 Took’s police statement
5 Trial of Took Leng How
6 References
[edit] Disappearance
The girl was reported missing on 10 October 2004 after she went out alone to make a long distance call to her mother, who had returned to China earlier on 27 September, leaving Huang Na in the care of a housemate.
Huang Na was last seen playing with Took Leng How at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre that day. Took is a vegetable packer at the wholesale centre and a former colleague and flatmate of Huang Na’s mother. Took is married and is the father of two young children.
[edit] Nationwide search
The case generated immense media attention and controversy surrounded the case, particularly as a result of local newspapers offering suggestions that the mother herself may be a murder suspect.
Members of the public helped in the search and distributed thousands of flyers in Singapore and Johor Bahru. The Malay Muslim community also came forward to help find the girl. [1]
When police were investigating the missing case, Took gave contradictory stories during police questioning. At first, he claimed that he had not seen the girl after they parted ways at the wholesale centre. Upon further questioning, he told investigator that four men in their 20s and 30s kidnapped the girl. Not a prime suspect at that time, Took appeared to be cooperating and claimed that he could help by arranging Huang Na’s release, but he had to collect his two mobile phones in which some contact numbers were stored. The police escorted Took to collect the mobile phones, but while returning to the police station, they stopped at a restaurant. Took excused himself to go to the toilet and managed to slip away and escaped to Penang, Malaysia on 21 October 2004. He later surrendered to police in Penang on 30 October and was extradited by the Royal Malaysian Police to Singapore. [2]
He then led police investigators to the body of Huang Na, found inside a cardboard box in a dense undergrowth in Telok Blangah Hill Park. Using dental records, Health Sciences Authority forensics team later identified the body as Huang Na. Due to the high publicity the searching effort had generated, the tragic outcome was greeted with shock by the public.
[edit] The murder
It was alleged that on 10 October, Took had coaxed the Huang Na into a storeroom with mangoes and a game of hide and seek [1]. After Took murdered the victim, he wrapped the body in nine layers of plastic bags and stuffed into a cardboard box which was sealed with adhesive tape. Took left the box in the storeroom. Later that day, he went back to his HDB flat in Telok Blangah Heights to watch television. At 8 pm, he left his house with a motorcycle he had borrowed from a friend. It was alleged that Took used the motorcycle to transport the body to Telok Blangah Hill Park. [3]
[edit] Took’s police statement
After his arrest, Took told police that he and Huang Na were playing a game of hide and seek on October 10 and he tied Huang Na’s hands and feet as part of the game. She was then left in a dark room where she accidentally injured herself by knocking her head against some boxes. Took said that when he returned to the room, he found the girl bleeding from the mouth. He panicked and started to strangle her. He then undressed her to give the impression of a rape. [4]
[edit] Trial of Took Leng How
On 14 June 2005, the case’s Preliminary Inquiry was presented to the High Court. 75 witnesses were expected to take the stands during the trial.
In their opening statement on 11 July 2005, the prosecutors said that on 10 October 2004, Took lured the 8 year old Huang Na at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. He then sexually assaulted Huang Na and smothered her to death with his bare hands. Took also stomped and kicked the victim during the murder. The prosecutors introduced evidence that Took had tied Huang Na’s body with string, sealed her body in nine layers of plastic bags and disposed her body down a slope at the Telok Blangah Hill Park.
During the autopsy, the medical examiner found bruises on her right temple, scalp, chin, jaw and lips. The medical examiner also concluded that the nature of death was asphyxia and the official cause of death was “acute airway occlusion”.
The prosecution presented forensic evidence that linked Took and the victim to the crime scene, which was a storage room at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. Investigators found the victim’s hairs and blood traces at the scene; the blood was proven to be belonging to Huang Na following forensic DNA analysis. Investigators also found a cigarette butt that contained traces of the suspect’s saliva and a piece of adhesive tape with the suspect’s fingerprint on it. However, forensic experts were not able to conclude that the suspect’s semen was found in the crime scene. [5]
Ms Lim Chin Chin, senior forensic scientist from the Centre of Forensic Science told the court that the end of one of the adhesive-tape strips on the cardboard box in which the body was found matched the end of a roll of adhesive tape found at the storeroom. The analyst further observed that the box had been sealed in “a very systematic manner”. This drew notice to the fact that Took was a packer at the wholesale centre [6]
On 26 August 2005, Took Leng How was sentenced to death after being found guilty for the murder of Huang Na. The judge pointed out that the forensic evidence supported the prosecution’s case and that Took had admitted to sexually assaulting Huang Na, smothering her to death with his bare hands. He said that the defence has failed to prove that Took was suffering from schizophrenia. [7]
Took appealed to the Court of Appeal in the Supreme Court. On 25 January 2006, the 3-member Court of Appeal upheld the sentence in a two-to-one decision. Chief Justice Yong Pung How and Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin agreed with the decision of trial judge Lai Kew Chai. Justice Kan Ting Chiu delivered a dissenting judgement expressing that there was a reasonable doubt whether Took caused Huang Na’s death by smothering her mouth and nose, or whether she died as a result of a fit. Kan wrote that Took should be convicted for an offence of voluntarily causing hurt. [8] A clemency appeal to the President of Singapore is currently pending. [9]
On 23 October 2006, President SR Nathan officially rejected Took’s final appeal against his death sentence and he will be sentenced to hang in 2 weeks time at Changi Prison which he will be executed before 6am at dawn.
[edit] References
^ Contributions of the Malay Muslim community. Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore). Retrieved on April 23, 2005.
^ Stepdad arrives, couple break down. AsiaOne News. Retrieved on 3 November 2004.
^ “He lured her into her trap”, The New Paper, 13 July 2005. By Genevieve Jiang
^ “Huang Na case: Accused admitted to police he strangled victim”, Channel NewsAsia, 13 July 2005. By Dominique Loh
^ “Huang Na Murder Trial”, Lianhe Wanbao, 12 July 2005. (Chinese)
^ “Took blames ‘gang members’”, Today (Singapore newspaper), 13 July 2005. By Wong Fei Wan
^ “Took Leng How sentenced to death for killing 8-year-old Huang Na”, Channel NewsAsia, 26 August 2005.
^ “Took Leng How v Public Prosecutor”, Court of Appeal Judgement, 25 January 2006. Retrieved on 28 January 2006.
^ “Took’s appeal dismissed, death term upheld for Huang Na’s murder”, Channel NewsAsia, 25 January 2006. By Rita Zahara
Faith said:
on October 24, 2006 at 11:13 pm
Sad to say that it’s final!
The clemency from president is rejected.
Took is to hang in two weeks time.
I feel sad for his family, especially his father.
chris said:
on October 28, 2006 at 10:59 pm
Just find that he should not be put to death since there are so many loopholes in this case. What if he is not the murderer? Wouldn’t Singapore be killing someone innocently? Sometimes the way forces in Singapore does things, no one knows unless you have been through it. Darkness is everywhere…it seems. There is not enough evidence to show that he is the killer and not enough evidence to prove that he is not. Sentenced to death just because he admitted. So why did he tell his family that he did not??? Will a person tell lies to the family that he so loved before his death? I personally don’t think so. After next Friday, everything will end and no one can save him.
bond said:
on November 3, 2006 at 1:10 pm
Sad to annouce that Took has left the world at dawn today.
Rest in peace, Took.
God bless your soul.
God bless your family.
SimpleSandra said:
on November 3, 2006 at 4:37 pm
Ryden wrote: “I saw this on the internet, but have you guys ever considered that he took a person life leaving the poor little girl’s mother alone crying. Is it fair for the girl? ”
I sympathise with the death of a young girl, but while the evidence do implicate Took in her death, they can’t prove beyond a doubt that he took her life - but I shan’t go into that.
What I didn’t like was the way Huang Na’s mother appeared to have milked the publicity, and the way the press stoked up the fevour. Yes, I can imagine the poor little girl’s mother “alone crying” - but not after she’s bought herself a three-storey house back in China (I hear) with the donations Singaporeans gave her. I know I sould unsympathetic, but I’ve seen families suffer worse deaths and yet choose to mourn with a bit of dignity away from the limelight. Now that the frenzy’s died down, people are starting to wonder if there’s more to it that meets the eye - thus the 30,000 over petitions.
Moreover, make you wonder what sort of mother would leave her nine-year-old daughter behind in a foreign land, just so she could go back to China to solicit “business”?
So yes, feel sorry for the girl. But I’d sooner shed a tear for Took’s wife and kids than for Huang Na’s mother.
elaine said:
on November 4, 2006 at 10:09 am
Yeah , i agreed , how can a mother laeve her nine - yr old daughter in a foreign country ??!! i would not even leave my daughter , a lone in a foreign place , not to mention country for even a min . And they have no solid evidence to proof that Took murdered the girl ! when i read the wan bao yesterday , my tears flowed down , reali feel so sad for took’s wife & mother . The son is only 4 yrs old , same as my daughter . These China ppl like to come singapore make problems for us ! Altough our ancestors also come from China , they are not as bad as wat China ppl are now ! ( I am only refering to “most ” of the China ppl , some of them are still good )
Ivy said:
on November 4, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Finally a full stop to Huang Na case. Feel sorry for the young girl as well as Took’s young wife and son but not Took. If he is realli innocent, why din he defence himself during the trial? How did he know where Huang Na’s body was dumped?
Lucky Took’s son is still young. So he will not suffer from any strong impact on this matter….
Death, the end of beginning is also a start of a new chapter.
Let go the past, let go the future, and let go what is in between, transcending the things of time. With your mind free in every direction, you will not return to birth and aging
jakes said:
on November 4, 2006 at 11:27 pm
Regarding capital punishment, I believe it is a necessary move. The threat of death is a huge deterrent to would-be criminals and sends out a message to them that crime, even of the smallest magnitude, will not be tolerated.
I must say I was also against Took’s hanging. He is too young to die, and has a family to support. Moreover, the fact that he turned himself in supplements the fact that he should not face the gallows. If he had escaped far away, he would have been clear of the law. Hence, I believe that a lighter sentence should be imposed (homicide instead of murder).
I feel sorry for Took indeed. Without him, his children would have no father to count on. What’s done is done, he has already been hanged, and there is nothing much we can do. Hope his family will remain strong.
On the other hand, I also agree with some of the postings here. Huang Na’s mother is obviously captialising on the donations by generous Singaporeans, using the money to build a house and such. She should be ashamed of herself, using her daughter’s death to live in luxury.
Bye, Took. Really feel sorry for you.