Agence France Presse

MARCH 20, 2002:

SINGAPORE - foreign national female faces death penalty

German woman to appear in Singapore court on drugs charge Thursday

A German woman charged with drug trafficking in Singapore will appear in court on Friday in a case seen as a potential diplomatic tinderbox because it could lead to the death penalty on conviction.

 Julia Suzanne Bohl, a 23-year-old student, and 2 Singaporeans were arrested last week for possession of 687 grams (24 ounces) of marijuana. An assortment of other drugs were also seized.

 The volume of marijuana far exceeds the 500 grams required for the mandatory death penalty, which is carried out by hanging, according to the Central Narcotics Bureau which made the arrests.

 If convicted, Bohl would become the 2nd European to be hanged in Singapore for drug offences since Dutch engineer Johannes van Damme was executed in 1994.

 "We have been visiting her regularly. We have helped her get legal advice," a spokeswoman from the German embassy in Singapore told AFP.

 She said Bohl had been "living in Singapore for quite sometime" but declined to give further information, saying all other details would come from the foreign ministry in Berlin.

 Bohl's lawyer declined requests for an interview.

 Under a "presumption clause" in Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act, anyone caught in possession of a certain amount of a specified drug is presumed to be trafficking in the substance.

 It is up to the defendant to prove that the drugs were not for trafficking.

 Singapore, a wealthy island-state steeped in Confucian values of discipline and hard work, has never backed down from carrying out its tough laws like hanging and caning, despite occasional diplomatic skirmishes with countries where the convicts came from.

 If Bohl is convicted, it could spark a bitter debate similar to that between the Netherlands and Singapore 8 years ago when Van Damme was hanged for trafficking 4.32 kilograms (9.5 pounds) of heroin.

 In 1994, Singapore rejected pressure from the Netherlands to stop the execution and dismissed suggestions of a "cultural gap" between the 2 countries, saying capital punishment had existed since British colonial times.

 The foreign ministry said then that the government could not change its laws to accommodate the Netherlands.

 "The government of Singapore does not ask the Netherlands to introduce capital punishment to deal with those who traffic drugs in the Netherlands.

 "Neither should the Netherlands government expect Singapore to change its laws to abolish capital punishment to accommodate its preferences," the ministry said.

 Drug trafficking and use has become a scourge in many parts of Southeast Asia, with some nations identifying it as a national security problem.

 According to authorities, drug syndicates also used some countries in the region as transhipment points for shipments to the United States and Europe.

 Singapore, however, has been relatively insulated from the problem, largely because of the strict implementation of its tough laws.

 Last year, the number of drug offenders arrested fell 2 % from the previous year, the Central Narcotics Bureau said.

 While more offenders were arrested for trafficking and consumption, the number of offenders for possession fell.

 The bureau said it mounted 48 major operations last year against drug traffickers and abusers, resulting in the crippling of 24 syndicates.

 Nearly 89 % of drug abusers arrested last year were using heroin. Abusers of synthetic drugs such as ecstasy, "ice", and ketamine accounted for 16 % and the remaining 5.0 % used marijuana.