Yesterday, Singapore’s retail magnate Tang Wee Sung was jailed for one day and fined S$17,000 by the Singapore court for agreeing to buy a kidney illegally and lying to the Commissioner of Oaths.
A lot of Singaporeans are surprised by the light sentence but to me, it wasn’t that surprising. He was sick and desperate to save his own life. If I was him, I’ll do the same thing. The fact that he was rich (very rich) helped as well.
What surprised me were the reactions of Tang’s family members. They were unhappy with the one day jail sentence. I can only shake my head at this. You have to say this show the clear difference between the rich and the poor in Singapore.
Considering that the poor guy who tried to sell his kidney got 2 weeks jail, one day is extremely light. What are they complaining about? If anyone is going to complain, it should be the guy who got 2 weeks jail! What are they complaining about? Tang only served a few hours, they should be happy about it. I would be.
One more thing, I think maybe the Singapore government should change the law on the buying/selling of organs. What is $17,000 to Tang? I mean he was willing to buy a kidney for S$300,000; $17,000 is nothing to him. Since the fine and jail term is so light, why not make organ trading legal!
One guy was willing to buy, one guy was willing to sell; I mean no one forced anyone to do anything he don’t want to do right? Since this sentence is not going to deter anyone anyway…make it legal.
That way, we can at least save some lives.
8 comments:
I am one not one wee-bit surprised, because I expected him to get a light sentence. Why? Because the law works in mysterious ways. Don't ask me why the other guy who is also seriously ill with cancer got 7 months jail. Just as those who want to talk politics have been asked to join a political party, I will not want to talk about the law.
i am also not the least surprised !
the law and justice system is exactly what the IBA reported. any more doubts ? time to stop the pretense and flush the national pledge down the toilet.
Its been the trend. If you had look all the previous court cases,
the well connected, rich or foreigners always get the lighter sentence when compare to the poor.
We are also like China, one country 2 systems
I thought I saw Tang at the Esplanade on Wed night...
Did anyone else see him there???
u should have read the response from Madam Lee Wei Ling in ST today...she called it a token sentence that should not have happened at all...meaning the correct sentence should be "no jail at all!" She should get her head examined for a start.
Yes, I think more people are annoyed at her response that at the sentence itself. Singaporeans kind of expected a light sentence due to who Tang is, but the family's reaction to the sentence was what got people shaking their head
the rich community called the sentence of one of its member an unnecessary 'tokenism' . some even wiped tears of compassion for the rich man who had to suffer an ill conceived judgment.
that prompted the legal head to put matter into perspective. he said, poor or rich, none is above the law. the sentence was the least possible punishment for someone who ...lied on oath.
hello?
do you know how serious a lie can be especially coming from someone highly regarded in society? lying bush brought nations to war which accounted for hundreds of thousands of lives lost beside wrecking economic havoc all over the world. can a lying poor who risk his life by selling his organ so he can better his financial circumstances inflict such world wide damages as would someone with economic clout?
please.
the rich man,an educated citizen, surely aware of legal implications and yet lied. someone of important standing in society who has no qualms lying under oath and under the watchful eyes of the fearsome judiciary will also have no qualms lying under any other circumstances be it business or in private affairs.
being a powerful business man and a respectable and influential elite, lying under oath cannot be placed on the same pedestal as an uneducated poor, WITHOUT ANY CLOUT, who lied on oath.
now has the law obvious blindness to weigh the profile of the exploiter and the exploited when passing sentence on a wrong committed a deliberate act to obscure fair justice in favor of prominence?
it is the paying patron who set the lure. the richer the patron, the greater his lure and power over the poorer or weaker soul. the greater the stake, the greater the corruption. without the rich patron, a lot of vices would have ceased to operate. the rich is often the bane and corrupter of the earth and therefore the law must distinguish that.
whether poor or rich, virtues can be severely tested but often, it is the rich who is better position to exploit those beneath them.
those with money create demand for the illicit or illegal and punitive actions should distinguish the exploited and those who entice the immature with their wealth.
If LKY or any of his family members need some organ transplant, I'll bet that our PAP govt will change the law for him.
Our double standards will not allow the Lee family to suffer at any costs.
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