A London-born British drug trafficker has reportedly been caned 24 times at a go in Singapore jail for a slew of drugs offences, according to British tabloid Daily Mail who spoke with the inmate's family after the punishment.
The inmate, Yuen Ye Ming, 31, was reportedly caned on Aug. 19 in Changi Prison.
Mothership.sg has reached out to Singapore prison for confirmation that the caning has been carried out and that 24 strokes were administered. The full Ministry of Home Affairs statement is found at the end.
Yuen was first arrested in August 2016, which marked the start of his problems with the law here.
He was eventually sentenced to 20 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
What Daily Mail article was about?
The Daily Mail article spoke to Yuen's sister, Elysia Yuen, 32, and reported at length about her anguish at not being able to stop the caning of her younger brother and having found out that the procedure has come to pass via the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
Daily Mail reported her saying:
"Our liaison officer at the FCO told us Ming was very strong during the caning. He knows what he did was wrong. We are an upstanding, religious family and certainly don't advocate the use of drugs, but isn't a 20-year prison sentence punishment enough?"
Caning in Singapore for inmates is understood to be carried out with not much advanced notice.
Emotive reporting
The highly emotive reporting included details of Yuen's upbringing, such as him being academically brilliant, as well as his falling into bad company as justifications for his crimes in Singapore.
The article also highlighted sibling Elysia Yuen's repeated bafflement at Singapore's tough laws against drugs and the justifications for her brother's crimes here.
Daily Mail reported that Yuen's drugs crimes would have resulted in no more than a 12-month jail term in Britain.
Yuen was caught a second time for possessing, consuming and trafficking drugs while out on bail.
Justifications for unlawful conduct
Elysia Yuen said her brother's recalcitrant attitude was the result of "escapism":
"We are not excusing Ming's behaviour and I do feel when he was on bail that was a low point for him," says Elysia.
"He knew he'd be going back to court to be sentenced to prison, so as someone who was taking drugs, that was where he found his solace and escapism."
The Daily Mail also repeatedly quoted Elysia Yuen, who labelled the caning as "barbaric":
"The severity of the sentence felt barbaric. I think he is being made an example of because Singapore wants to send the message, 'Don't come to our country and break the rules', but 24 strokes is the maximum anyone can receive, even rapists."
"Anyone who doesn't think that is barbaric can't be human. It's awful. I don't think anyone should be subjected to physical torture because if you are going to prison, that is already your punishment."
Yuen's brushes with the law
However, the article did highlight Yuen's brushes with the law from a young age.
Before leaving for Singapore at age 17, Yuen got into trouble over an alleged scam involving forged driving licences, which he reportedly sold to other pupils to buy alcohol and cigarettes.
He then moved to Singapore to live with his mother's family, a fact that was tracked down by a newspaper in the UK.
This was also after Yuen's father was made bankrupt following a bad investment and lost everything.
But Daily Mail did not report if Yuen was punished for his unlawful conduct as a juvenile in the UK, as he stayed on in Singapore after arriving here as a teenager.
Yuen's father passed away due to Covid-19 in March, Daily Mail added.
Attempt to bring him back to UK
With the caning now over, Daily Mail said the family is fighting for Yuen to be transferred to a British prison.
The report also failed to mention that, ironically, caning in Singapore is a legacy of British colonial rule.
Wrote two letters
Daily Mail also reported that Yuen wrote two letters dated Aug. 3 and 6 to explain his predicament and his fight against caning.
His Aug. 6 letter read:
"What I am fighting for is not only my own future, but for the conservation of corporal dignity and for the unwavering belief that in any civilised society, violence has no place where the disposal of justice is concerned," he wrote.
[...]
"Churchill once said that a society could be judged by the way it treats its prisoners. No human being deserves to be treated this way. It may be too late and too bad for me, but it is not, and never will be too late, for posterity to benefit from your compassion."
His fight refers to his appeal against caning, which has been rejected by the Court of Appeal in Singapore.
Calls for leniency
Calls for leniency were made on Yuen's behalf by Home Secretary Priti Patel and former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt previously.
Daily Mail said that the British High Commission in Singapore issued a statement in response to the caning: "The UK strongly opposes corporal punishment in all circumstances and condemns its use in this case."
A spokesman for the Singapore High Commission in London previously told Daily Mail: "Singapore deals with the drug problem comprehensively with the strictest enforcement coupled with the severest of penalties to protect the welfare of the public and our collective aspiration to live and raise our children in a safe oasis."
Background
Yuen was first arrested on Aug. 5, 2016, at a River Valley condominium.
He was found to be carrying drugs.
He had turned to selling drugs to support his lavish lifestyle and repay his gambling debts, investigations revealed.
On Jan. 17, 2018, he pleaded guilty to trafficking, possession and consumption charges.
As the case was adjourned for sentencing and while Yuen was out on bail, he was arrested on Feb. 20, 2018, and charged with a second set of trafficking, possession and consumption offences.
He pleaded guilty to four of the 12 charges on July 18, 2018.
On Aug. 1, 2018, he was sentenced to a total of 20 years' jail and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane.
Ministry of Home Affairs statement:
1. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is aware of the statement by the British High Commission in Singapore, which was issued on 19 August 2020 in response to the punishment of caning imposed on British national Yuen Ye Ming. It stated that the United Kingdom condemned the use of corporal punishment in Yuen’s case.
2. Yuen was first arrested on 5 August 2016 in Singapore for drug-related offences. Amongst the drugs found in his possession were six packets containing not less than 17.05g of methamphetamine – five packets were intended for sale, and one packet was for his own consumption. Yuen tested positive for methamphetamine consumption after a urine test. He was convicted on 17 January 2018 for these offences and was released on court bail, pending sentencing.
3. About one month later, Yuen was arrested again for drug-related offences. He was found to have sold two blocks of cannabis containing not less than 69.74g of cannabis, and was in possession of another five blocks of cannabis containing not less than 60.61g of cannabis intended for sale. Yuen was also in possession of two packets containing not less than 1.29g of methamphetamine intended for his own consumption. He also tested positive again for methamphetamine consumption after a urine test. On 18 July 2018, Yuen pleaded guilty to the additional charges and was sentenced on 1 August 2018 to an overall sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane for his various drug offences.
4. On 5 November 2018, Yuen’s appeal against his sentence was dismissed by the High Court of Singapore. Yuen filed a Criminal Motion seeking to refer questions of law to the Court of Appeal, which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 19 August 2019. Subsequently, there were five petitions for clemency received from Yuen and his family, which were all unsuccessful. Yuen filed another Criminal Motion on 23 March 2020 seeking an extension of time and to refer questions of law of public interest to the Court of Appeal, which it subsequently dismissed on 12 August 2020. His sentence of caning was carried out on 19 August 2020.
5. Before a sentence of caning is carried out, the offender is certified by a Prisons Medical Officer to be in a fit state of health to undergo such punishment. Caning is carried out by trained officers from the Singapore Prison Service, with strict procedures and supervision in place to ensure the safe and proper administration of caning. A Prisons Medical Officer is also required under the law to be present during the administration of caning.
6. Singapore has a zero-tolerance policy against drug-related offences, with strict enforcement and severe penalties. These laws apply equally to all in Singapore, regardless whether the offender is a local or foreigner. Foreigners who break our laws should not expect to be treated any differently from Singaporeans. Singapore respects the sovereign right of other States to determine their own legal systems, taking into account their own values and context, and expects the same in return.
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Top photo via Yuen family via Daily Mail