FAMILY FLIES BODY OF EXECUTED AUSSIE HOME

SINGAPORE: The family and lawyers of an Australian drug trafficker
executed in Singapore flew home with the body on Saturday and the
lawyers vowed to campaign against the death penalty in the region.

Lex Lasry, the lawyer of 25-year-old Nguyen Tuong Van, said he would
persuade the Australian government to take the lead to campaign for
the abolishment of the death penalty in the region.

Nguyen was hanged on Friday for carrying 400gm of heroin while in
transit in Singapore three years ago.

"The end of Van's life must not be the end of the campaign against
the mandatory death penalty," Lasry told reporters at the Singapore
Changi Airport where Nguyen was caught.

"We will ask the government to formalise a strong policy so Australia
can take the lead, especially in this region, against the death
penalty and in particular against the mandatory death penalty."

Lasry said Australia - a staunch opponent of the death penalty - must
not have double standards and should also speak out against the
execution of terrorists in Indonesia.

Nguyen's mother Kim and twin brother Khoa arrived at the airport on
Saturday evening. Wearing a peach-coloured headscarf, Kim was crying
as she was led into the check-in area of the airport. Khoa, dressed
in black and wearing a crucifix around his neck, was composed as he
comforted his mother.

Nguyen's execution put a spotlight on Singapore's death penalty,
which dictates automatic execution for anyone over 18 convicted of
carrying more than 15gm of heroin.

Lasry condemned Singapore's use of the mandatory death penalty and
called for the city-state to review its laws.

"Singapore is going to have to understand that a first-world country
cannot continue to hang people without giving them a chance to say
why they should not be executed."

Nguyen, born in a refugee camp in Thailand, had said he was carrying
drugs to help pay off his brother's debts from loan sharks.

Local leaders and activists are sceptical that Singapore, described
by rights group Amnesty International as having one of the highest
execution rates in the world relative to its population, will repeal
its austere laws.

"I can confidently say he will not be the last to be hanged," said
opposition politician Steve Chia at a forum held on Saturday by civil
rights group Think Centre.

"Most Singaporeans are too caught up in making a decent living to
care about one convicted trafficker in our society," said Chia, who
is also a nominated member of parliament.

Singapore's media watchdog, the Media Development Authority, has
ordered a theatre director to scrap the performance of a play about
the death penalty to be staged on Saturday.

"They said it was better if we just scrapped the whole thing," said
Benny Lim, artistic director of The Fun Stage. "They said a play
about death penalty is not good at this time."