Singapore Defends American Teen’s Flogging Sentence

The government here on Friday rejected U.S. criticism of a court’s decision to sentence an Ohio teen-ager to be flogged for spray-painting cars, saying the country’s tough laws have saved it from the fate of New York, “where vandalism is commonplace.”

The government also rejected foreign pleas for clemency for four foreigners who were sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

A Thai and three Hong Kong nationals were hanged Friday morning at Changi Prison, after Amnesty International called on thousands of supporters to send appeals for clemency to Singapore President Ong Teng Cheong. Singapore has hanged 52 people for drug offenses since the death penalty was imposed in 1975.

Another human rights dispute appeared to be brewing in the case of Michael P. Fay, the 18-year-old American who was sentenced Thursday to six strokes of a cane and four months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of vandalism, two charges of mischief and one count of possessing stolen property.

Fay, of Dayton, Ohio, was freed on $48,000 bail while his attorneys prepared an appeal.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore said it was “shaken” by Fay’s sentence. It said it has supported the government’s enforcement of law and order, which is one reason Singapore is attractive to American business.

“However, we simply do not understand how the government can condone the permanent scarring of any 18-year-old boy--American or Singaporean--by caning for such an offense,” the chamber said in a statement, adding, “It is impossible to predict how this will affect American business activity, but it is likely to cast a cloud over Singapore’s international reputation.”

Ralph Boyce, the U.S. charge d’affaires who attended the sentencing, took the rare step of publicly criticizing the court’s decision.

“We see a large discrepancy between the offense and the punishment,” Boyce said. “The cars were not permanently damaged; the paint was removed with thinner. Caning leaves permanent scars. In addition, the accused is a teen-ager and this is his first offense.”

Fay is believed to be the first American ever sentenced to a caning, in which a trained martial arts expert flogs a prisoner with a half-inch-thick rattan cane.

“Unlike some other societies which may tolerate acts of vandalism, Singapore has its own standards of social order as reflected in our laws,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. “It is because of our tough laws against anti-social crimes that we are able to keep Singapore orderly and relatively crime free. We do not have a situation where acts of vandalism are commonplace as in cities like New York, where even police cars are not spared the acts of vandals.”

The statement said that in the last five years, 14 people, ages 18 to 21, had been sentenced to imprisonment and caning for vandalism, including two foreigners.

“Singapore expects its citizens to follow the laws of the countries they visit or reside in. Similarly, we also expect foreigners in Singapore to abide by our laws,” the ministry said.

Several Americans who live in Singapore said privately that they believe that the government attached great importance to the Fay case in order to send a message to Singaporeans about the dangers of “decadent” Western culture.

Singapore is a longtime ally of the United States, linked by expanding trade and security ties. The United States operates a facility for U.S. Navy ships in Singapore, and there are more than 200 U.S service personnel based here.

But the relationship has had its up and downs.

In the 1980s, an American diplomat was expelled for interfering in Singapore’s domestic affairs by speaking to opposition politicians. The government has also barred a number of American journalists from attending international conferences here, despite the objections of the U.S. secretary of state.