AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENT PLEADS FOR LIFE OF NGUYEN TUONG VAN ON DEATH ROW IN SINGAPORE

Australia's parliament passed a motion calling on Singapore not to hang Nguyen Tuong Van, a 25 year old Australian convicted of drug trafficking, but Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he would not jeopardise relations with the city state over the issue. Australian politicians from both sides argued for Nguyen's life to be spared, and members of both sides of politics voted to pass the motion.
"I call upon the Singaporean government to show clemency in this case and return this silly boy to his mother. Yes, punish him for his crime, but not by the death penalty," Labor's Anna Burke said.
Judi Moylan, a member of Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal Party, said it would be a "great tragedy if this young Australian loses his life in this way."
Liberal Wilson Tuckey refused to support the motion. "It is not appropriate for the parliament to further pressure the parliament of Singapore on their own laws," he said.