By Mark Baker, Asia Editor, Singapore, January 30, 2004

Lawyers defending a Melbourne salesman facing execution on heroin smuggling charges in Singapore yesterday called for the case to be thrown out after accusing police of denying his legal rights and mishandling the drugs allegedly seized from him.

The Singapore High Court was told that 23-year-old Nguyen Tuong Van was denied access to consular help and was not informed of his legal rights before giving police interviews in which he admitted carrying the drugs.

Lawyer Isaac Tito said that despite police rules requiring prompt notification of embassies when foreign nationals were arrested, Nguyen had been forced to wait 20 hours before meeting an official from the Australian High Commission.

"They knew he was an Australian citizen, but they did not offer him consular access before interviewing him and they didn't tell him he was not obliged to answer questions," Mr Tito said in his closing submission to the trial. "This evidence should be excluded."

Nguyen has pleaded not guilty to carrying about 396 grams of heroin during a stop in Singapore while flying from Cambodia to Melbourne in December last year.

Under Singapore law, hanging is mandatory for anyone convicted of carrying more than 15 grams of heroin.

The defence team presented detailed arguments that the mandatory sentencing policy for drug crimes breached the country's constitution and international law by imposing "cruel and inhuman" punishment and by denying judicial discretion.

But they said the police treatment of Nguyen and the handling of the evidence against him made the prosecution case unsound and the prospect of the death penalty unthinkable.

Mr Tito said a package of heroin allegedly found strapped to Nguyen's back as he prepared to board a Qantas flight to Melbourne, and another recovered from his hand luggage, had not been handled according to narcotics bureau regulations.

When the alleged drug parcels were returned after later chemical analysis, one was heavier and the other lighter than initial records and no explanation was given for the discrepancies.

"The prosecution has failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the exhibits were properly handled," Mr Tito told the court.

He argued that even if the court were to convict Nguyen, it would be wrong to apply the death penalty given the irregularities in the prosecution case.

"No capital offence can be made if there is no reliable evidence about the weight of the drugs," he said.

But prosecutors said there was no evidence that the drug exhibits had been tampered with and said Nguyen had confessed to carrying drugs in further police interviews made after he met with consular officials.

The case is continuing.

30/01/2004. Archived from The Age

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