Dear President Tony Tan,

First of all, we would like to congratulate you on winning the Presidential Election. We are glad that you have pledged to reach out to all Singaporeans and to try to represent our hopes and dreams for our country.

We believe in a justice system that is not only fair, but also merciful. This is why we are writing to you today, to plead for clemency for death row inmate Yong Vui Kong.

We understand that as President, you have to act on advice of the Cabinet and that you have no say in clemency proceedings. But as you will be the person signing the death warrant, we feel it is important that you consider all the facts of his case before doing so.

Vui Kong was barely 19 years old when he was caught for trafficking 47.27 grams of heroin into Singapore. He was illiterate, impressionable and ignorant. He had grown up in poverty in Sabah and had to drop out school when he was just 12 years old. He left home to find work in Kuala Lumpur when he was 15, a naïve teenager in a big city. His mother suffered from severe depression and he felt it was his duty to help pay for her medical bills. This he says, was the reason why he turned to crime.

Vui Kong was not a drug baron, not a hardened criminal, not even a small-time distributor. He was merely following orders – delivering packages wrapped up as “presents” on behalf of his boss, a man he called his “big brother”. He admits he knew the packages contained illegal substances but maintains to this day that his “big brother” told him that he would not face the death sentence, even if he got caught.

During Vui Kong’s trial, Justice Choo Han Teck asked the prosecution to consider reducing the charge to a non-capital one. The learned judge must have felt that someone so young and disadvantaged deserved a second chance. But the request was turned down and because of the mandatory death penalty, Vui Kong now sits on death row, a young man of 23, and a repentant Buddhist. His fellow inmates say he is a gentle soul who spends his days praying and meditating. His family tell us he is a completely changed person. They say he doesn’t fear death but he wants to live for the sake of their sick mother who still does not know her youngest son could be executed.

President Tan, we believe in personal responsibility and feel that no crime should go unpunished. But what sense is there in killing a repentant young man? We are not asking that Vui Kong be released, only that his life be spared. He would still have to spend decades behind bars, paying the price for a crime he committed out of youthful ignorance. Is this not severe enough a punishment?

Vui Kong has pledged to spend the rest of his time on earth meditating and telling other young people not to dabble in drugs. Over the past two years, he has made good on that promise – writing regularly about his own experiences and urging youths to value their lives. Support for him is tremendous. He will be an asset to the anti-drug campaign.

President Tan, as a former member of the Cabinet, you know better than we do the process involved in weighing a clemency petition. And although you have no official say in the matter, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong himself has said he would consider very carefully, the President’s views.

We ask that you intercede on behalf of Vui Kong. He committed a crime, but given his youth, his disadvantage background, his deep remorse and his transformation, killing him would be a grave mistake.

Please urge Singapore’s Cabinet to spare Yong Vui Kong’s life.