The Swiss President urged Singapore to drop corporal punishment but did not intercede on behalf of Fricker as reported by AFP It is not really surprising as Singapore is Switzerland’s biggest trading partner in South East Asia as reported by the Channel News Asia. There are 200 Swiss companies in Singapore employing 20,000 people. I wonder how the Swiss people feel about this issue:
Switzerland’s president did not plead for leniency for a Swiss train vandal during a visit to Singapore, and said there was no “big debate” over the issue, reports said Saturday.
In a meeting with Singapore President S.R. Nathan, Switzerland’s Doris Leuthard said that punishing Fricker was “correct” but added that caning was not the Swiss way.
“I discussed it with the president, but you know for us it is not a big debate,” Leuthard said according to the Straits Times.
“We agree that he is guilty, which he also accepts by the way. It’s correct what you do but it’s not our way,” she added.
Leuthard also said Singapore should rethink its policy on caning as many countries had abandoned corporal punishment, but added that this was a decision only the local authorities could make, the Straits Times said.
Fricker, who had been working in Singapore as a software consultant, is currently serving his sentence but his lawyer has tabled an appeal for a reduced jail term.
Singapore has also launched an international manhunt for Fricker’s accomplice, 29-year-old Briton Lloyd Dane Alexander, who allegedly planned the act but left the city-state before he could be caught.
{extracted from AFP Report}
