SINGAPORE. COUNTRY FINALLY FINDS A VOICE IN DEATH ROW PROTEST, EDITORIAL

the Canton meeting room at Singapore's drab Furama Hotel was an unlikely venue for history to be made. But this bland setting hosted an unprecedented event for the tightly controlled island republic.
Organisers of a three-hour vigil for Shanmugam Murugesu, who was likely to be executed on May 13 for possession of 1 kilo of marijuana, said it was the nation's first public gathering organised solely by citizens demanding a change to the law.
'There's never been an event like this in Singapore,' said Sinapan Samydorai, the president of non-governmental organisation Think Centre.
Murugesu, 38, a former jet ski champion, military veteran and civil servant, was arrested in August 2003 after six packets containing a total of just over a kilo of cannabis were found in his bags when he returned home after a trip to Malaysia.
He admitted to knowing about one of the packets, containing 300g, but nothing about the others.
The admission, repeated expressions of regret and co-operation with the authorities proved futile for the divorced father of 14-year-old twin sons. He was sentenced to death despite his only previous conviction being a traffic offence. Murugesu had his appeal dismissed in October 2004. He was given badge 859 when he entered death row.
It was not clear when this numbering system began or how many executions were held in Singapore. In a 2004 report, Amnesty International said that, since 1991, 400 people had been killed - all executions are by hanging on Friday mornings - giving the country of 4.2 million people the world's highest per capita execution rate.
The government clearly does not want the campaign gathering momentum. The partially state-owned local media ignored the vigil and the police shut down the open mike session just as the first person was getting into his stride.
'We'll be lucky to get anywhere in 10 or even 20 years,' said Samydorai. 'But at least Singaporeans are finally speaking out.'