Nguyen Tuong Van left a farewell message for young Australians to keep clear of drugs, to be read out at his funeral in Melbourne on Wednesday. Insiders said that in that message, Nguyen expressed his repentance for any pain he had caused, and warned about the evil of drugs.
His lawyer Julian McMahon said Nguyen also wrote to several prominent people and a political leader.
Nguyen prayed in the final hours, and as he was led to the gallows, gave the prison superintendent a farewell hug in Aussie fashion, his last friendly human contact. His last wish to walk by himself and without shackles from his cell to the gallows was agreed to.
His execution has motivated some Singaporeans to rise up and bear the wrath of the Singapore government by forming the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Committee to oppose capital punishment in Singapore. This is a significant step in Singapore’s rather repressed society.
The newly formed movement lit candles for Nguyen outside the prison gates, and displayed farewell messages from supporters. One read: "Dear Van. We're all under the same skies. But some choose to be less human. You may be gone, but we'll continue the fight." Again, in tightly controlled and generally well obedient Singapore society, this is unusual.
Letchumi Murugesu, the mother of another man hanged earlier, Shanmugum Murugesu, was also among the crowd outside the prison wall. Shanmugan Murugesu had befriended Nguyen and described him to his mother as a ‘baby among hardened criminals’.
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