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“If there is an opinion that we must make this as an example, that people who carry this amount of drugs will be hanged – you already hung 400 people. Its enough example. We get it,” TV personality Nick Mikhail Razak said in an impactful live streamed video for Muhammad Ridzuan.
Muhammad Ridzuan was executed by the state at 6am this morning for trafficking 72.5g of heroin in 2013. He was caught by the authorities together with Abdul Haleem bin Abdul Karim on 20 May 2013.
While it has been established by the court that Muhammad Ridzuan was just a courier, he was denied a certificate of substantial assistance by the Public Prosecutor, although he appealed against the death sentence imposed on him. Abdul Haleem however, was granted the same certificate, sparing him his life.
Human rights lawyer and advocate, M Ravi, had delivered a petition to stay the execution of Muhammad Ridzuan on May 18. It was rejected by the President of Singapore on the same evening.
In his video, Nick spoke about how, had Ridzuan been given a life sentence instead, there would have been a chance of him contributing back to society and being a motivational speaker for offenders. “There aren’t enough motivators in there to tell people to not come back in after leaving,” Nick said.
Nick said that Muhammad Ridzuan being behind bars for seven years before his impending execution is already a wake up call for him.
In his 16 minutes video, Nick stressed that his message is not to go against the authorities, saying, “This is not to anti our leaders or go against them. We elected you. We chose you. We believe you are the people to lead us and we have to accept whatever reason or whatever answer you give us. But that doesn’t mean we can’t give our opinion”.
“A man does not make a country. An association does not make a country. It is the people who makes a country. And the people chose you to lead us because we have faith,” Nick said.
In just one day, Amnesty International, Think Centre, a Singapore non-government organisation for political development, democracy, rule of law, human rights and civil society, the International Federation for Human Rights, and the European Union Delegation had all issued statements to condemn the hanging and called on the Singapore government to halt Muhammad Ridzuan’s execution.
Today, the 32-year-old was sent to the gallows at 6am.
Just after Nick made his emotional speech, the funeral of Muhammad was carried out and streamed live on Facebook by one of the attendees.