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SCMP Reporter

A HONG KONG man facing death by hanging in Singapore was duped into trafficking drugs by a colleague who assured him a trip to the island republic would earn him 'pennies from heaven' for his blind son.

  Daniel Chan Chi-pun, 38, who will be hanged early Friday morning, had also been told by the colleague that doctors abroad could find a cure for his six-year-old son's blindness.

  Chan had second thoughts about the trip, but knowing his tender spot and 'offering him tea and sympathy', the colleague managed to convince Chan to proceed to Singapore without telling him he was trafficking drugs.

  The revelations were made in a touching plea for clemency written by Chan's former defence counsel, Spencer Gwee.

  The submission also told how Chan had refused to put up a petition of clemency himself, effectively abandoning the last legal avenue that could spare him the gallows.

  Mr Gwee believed Chan's refusal to write a plea could be due to the fact that he had 'completely lost all heart and faith in the authorities', or that he wanted to escape 'the agony, suffering and anguish of further waiting'.

  In the submission which was last week turned down by the Singapore President Ong Teng Cheong, Mr Gwee also told how Chan was left as 'skin and bone', and 'completely unrecognisable' after his arrest.

  It also revealed how Chan 'exploded out in uncontrollable weeping' when he learnt of the death of his mother. His mother hanged herself when she heard of the arrest of her only son despite attempts by family members to keep it secret.

  'Each morning he awakes sombre, unconscious of where he is or what had happened, with the unrivalled mental anguish and torture that the day of his death is near,' the petition said.

  Mr Gwee said he truly believed that the death penalty should not be awarded without full consideration of his character, the facts of the offence, and any other mitigating factors, despite the absence of a clemency plea from Chan himself.

  He said irrespective of the consent of the prisoner not to pursue his case it was incumbent upon him to bring to the president's notice his case.

  Chan was arrested at Singapore's Changi airport for importing 464 grams of heroin in 1990. His appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal last year.

  Last week, both his lawyer and the British High Commission, which also submitted a plea for clemency on Chan's behalf, were notified that both petitions had been turned down.

  The submission by Mr Gwee told how Chan, was 'sold down the river' by a colleague.

  It said Chan 'never knew the vest he was wearing contained heroin'.

  There is also no evidence that Chan was poverty stricken or in any financial straits, it said.

  It said Chan, a religious citizen, and a devoted father, was 'deeply sorrowed' to discover that his only son was blind.

  Chan was working as a security officer when he became acquainted with the colleague, surnamed Law, who asked Chan to run an errand for him, and 'assured' him by so doing, his blind son would benefit.

  It said Chan 'even at the trial' did not wish to disclose about his blind son, but later informed the court that Law had mentioned in previous occasions doctors abroad could cure his son.

  It said part of Chan's motive in following Law's directions was to find out more about the errand before taking his son overseas for treatment.

  'Thinking he was a real benefactor and that he was in a fool's paradise, the simple-minded prisoner could really see no further than his nose,' Mr Gwee said.

  Chan followed his colleague's instruction to meet at the airport. When they met, the colleague gave him two tickets and asked him to take a flight out of Hong Kong.

  Mr Gwee said although Chan had second thoughts, and not wishing to proceed to 'any of the destinations', 'not having a mind of his own', and 'totally ignorant' of the nature of the laws in Singapore, he was convinced by the colleague to carry out his instructions.

  In Singapore, the death sentence is compulsory for anyone over 18 years of age found smuggling more than 15 grams of heroin.

  Chan was 'duped' into wearing a vest before the plane landed at Changi airport.

  The trial judge accepted Chan's explanation that he had consistently told the arresting officers that he never knew the vest he was wearing contained heroin.

  'On his arrest he was at a loss for words . . .,' Mr Gwee wrote. 'The prisoner did not receive any benefit whatsoever, came out empty handed, and was sold down the river by Law.'   Mr Gwee said the intense mental suffering associated with a capital charge, and then a death sentence was especially pronounced in Chan's case due to his mother's death.

 The uncertainty over the precise time and place of his execution had an 'especially degrading and brutalising effect' on Chan, Mr Gwee said.

  Chan had suffered additional pain because his mother had taken her life as a result of his arrest.

  Chan is said to have 'changed' and found additional strength in religion. He is now a devout Christian.

  Chan's family is in Singapore to pay him final visits. It is believed a memorial service is being arranged in Singapore in anticipation of his death.



Death-row drug runner promised pennies from heaven