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Jakarta Post

Letters: David's death and -Singapore

Firstly, my deepest condolences and sympathies to David's family

(The Jakarta Post)
Tue, August 4, 2009

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Letters: David's death and -Singapore

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irstly, my deepest condolences and sympathies to David's family. It's indeed a tragedy to lose a life let alone someone in the prime of their life. RIP David.

On this case, David's family has every right to seek closure and recourse for themselves by requesting for a full and complete investigation into their son's tragedy. However in doing so, they have to adhere to the laws of the land, in this case Singaporean law. They shouldn't do so by going public based on allegations and unverified evidence or hearsay from David's friends in the institution.

They should have their lawyer represent them when facing the press so as to prevent and protect themselves from potential prosecution. Doing so, will also help preserve their dignity of not only their family, but of David's memory.

The judiciary system in Singapore can sometimes seem stringent and lacking in compassion especially in cases that attract publicity. However there are always proper channels to go through for appeals and so on. I sympathize with David's family, but also ask them to seek the truth by holding back their emotions and prejudices. It's extremely tough and painful, but this is the only way to have closure and let David rest in peace.

I am Singaporean and admit that a lot of us may seem unfeeling and self-righteous to foreigners. We come from a small island (only as big as Batam) so our survival instincts are ingrained into us from the day we're born. However, most of us only have good intentions in our hearts. Indonesia and Singapore have always had a cordial and friendly relationship.

We have to continue the journey to peace and prosperity together without prejudice. The road is long and winding but I'm sure that with conviction and trust we will see the rainbow at the end of the tunnel. I don't wish for this incident to cause a rift between our countries or any other incident for that matter.

To the Singapore judiciary, I wish for you to assist and provide all assistance to David's family in order to help them seek closure in their hearts and mind.

You have to understand that they are not accustomed to our system and laws so you have to show more compassion and hospitality in your dealings with them. Place yourselves in their situation and know that if this was your own son who died in a foreign land, you too would find it hard to accept any decision which may seem to be going against you. We Singaporeans have been told time and again by our government to show compassion, now is one such time to do so.

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