Tang jailed for a day and fined in kidney—for—sale case
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20080904/tap-569-tang-jailed-day-fined-kidney-for-231650b.html

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s retail magnate Tang Wee Sung, 55, was jailed for one day on Wednesday and fined a total of S$17,000 for agreeing to buy a kidney illegally and lying to the Commissioner of Oaths

About 10 family members and his lawyer were present when he was freed.
Tang had pleaded guilty to two of three charges a week ago. The first charge was for agreeing to buy a kidney for about S$300,000 and the other, for lying to the Commissioner of Oaths.
The third charge — of lying to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital’s Transplant Ethics Committee — was taken into consideration during sentencing.

For the past weeks, Tang’s walk to the courts had been deliberate due to his medical condition. It was no different earlier Wednesday, and his deteriorating health from end—stage renal failure was one reason why the district judge did not give him a long jail term.

In fact, Tang asked to be seated in the middle of the sentencing because of his poor health.
District Judge Ng Peng Hong explained why one day in jail would be sufficient for Tang. First, his ill health — Tang is undergoing daily dialysis and his health could be further aggravated in jail.
District Judge Ng said: "Incarceration itself would most likely have very much harsher consequences for him than what is intended for the ordinary offender."

But he stressed that Tang’s offences are "serious in nature" and the sentence should reflect that.
The judge added that the "weight of culpability in this case lies not with the desperate and dying, but more with the dealers or middlemen who seek to profit from the desperation of the poor as well as the desperation of the terminally ill."

So he said "the need for retributive justice should be reserved for the middlemen and not for the desperately and terminally ill."

Last Wednesday, Tang’s lawyer Cavinder Bull urged the judge to impose a fine for the organ—trading charge. For the second charge of lying to the Commissioner of Oaths, Mr Bull said at most a one—day jail sentence would be appropriate.

Mr Bull laid out factors to convince the judge why Tang should not go to jail. He said Tang was driven by pure desperation to commit the offence as he suffers not just from end—stage renal failure but other medical problems such as diabetes and coronary artery disease.

Mr Bull said Tang also had no intention to exploit the poor and socially disadvantaged and that he never received a kidney in the end.

On the prosecution’s part, it had called for a fine of S$10,000 for the first charge and a "very short" jail sentence for the second.

On Wednesday, Mr Bull described the judgement as a "learned" one. "I guess from the defence point of view, we’re very gratified that he (judge) has accepted our submissions on judicial mercy as has been defined by the High Court," he added.

Mr Bull went on to say: "It’s still a conviction, he (Tang) is going into prison and that takes its toll on him. He obviously is going to be relieved that it’s (jail term) not longer than what he (would have) gotten, but I would not underestimate the impact of the sentence on him."
Mr Bull also called the decision a fair one and has no plans to file any appeals.

Tang’s family and friends, a total of about 50 of them, packed the courtroom for the 45—minute sentencing. When they came out, some were seen wiping away their tears.
Reactions were mixed on whether Tang should even have been sent to jail for one day.
Dr Jannie Tay, president of Singapore Retailers Association, said: "For the last three years, he was very sick, and was waiting for this (kidney) match. And finally it happened, he’s just being caught at the wrong time.

"He’s done everything he could, he’s been a good man, he’s not hurt anyone, he thought that was the right process and even (a) one—day sentence, he should never have gotten (it)."
Keith Chua, a childhood friend of Tang, said: "We’re relieved that the court has been merciful in addressing the case. Even though it may seem like a short sentence of one day, knowing his condition, we still remain concerned for him."

The two Indonesian men involved in the kidney—for—sale case were sentenced to jail and fined on July 3.

Sulaiman Damanik, 26, who agreed to sell his kidney to Tang was sentenced to two weeks in jail and fined S$1,000. As he could not pay the fine, he was jailed for another one week.
The middleman, Wang Chin Sing — who brokered the deal between Tang and Sulaiman — will be sentenced on Friday.

He pleaded guilty to five charges related to this case. The charges include how 44—year—old Wang had coached Tang and Sulaiman to lie to the Commissioner of Oaths and the hospital’s Ethics Committee.
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An issue which has been recently brought up in the news would be that of organ trading, and its place in Singapore. Mr. Tang Wee Sung, a prominent Singaporean businessman, was arrested and charged for illegal organ trading. This refers to the outlawed practice of ‘buying’ and ‘selling’ a person’s organs, under the guise of organ donation. There is a multitude of varying opinions on the issue at hand, ranging from strong approval to calls for it to remain illegal.

According to a recent survey, most young Singaporeans actually disapprove of this practice. They claim that it was “just not right” to buy and sell parts of the human body, even though this may have led to a greater number of lives saved. Out of the approximately three hundred people who were surveyed, seven in ten expressed this opinion.

Personally, I feel that this reaction is unjustified. We, as individuals, have to do what we can to spare our fellow human beings from prolonged pain, and more so death, even if the methods we have to undertake are as "unethical" as organ trading. There are many times when conducting an organ trade would be beneficial for both the parties, the donor and the recipient. Not only does the recipient have his condition alleviated, but the donor also often receives a handsome payment. In fact, an article from The Straits Times showed how many men in an Indonesian village had resorted to selling their organs in order to escape the poverty cycle. By selling their superfluous organs, such as a parts of their liver or a kidney, they had enough money to use as capital in a business and were then able to benefit financially, thus bringing about a higher standard of living in the area.

In addition, another criticism of the majority’s viewpoint would be that it is far too idealistic and sentimental. To quote someone speaking on this topic, “most people who oppose organ trading probably have not had any similar experience” of the plight the sufferers of organ failure have to endure till their last breaths. They are willing to let patients suffer unnecessary pain, just because they have no relatives who can donate an organ. On an emotional level, I urge everyone who opposes organ trading to empathize with the patients who truly need it. It is naïve to think that saving a human life is less important than what is “just right”, given the practical solution offered by the selling of organs. We must not allow these so-called “ethical issues” to cloud our judgment and deter us from saving more lives.

Of course, organ selling might have some drawbacks. In such a system, the poor patients may be marginalized because the organs go to the highest bidder. Those who cannot afford to pay the costly price of an organ could be left behind, unable to find a replacement organ. Additionally, there may be health risks which allow diseases or conditions to be passed from donor to recipient, especially if there are unscrupulous sellers out there.

However, these arguments are precisely why we should legalize organ trading. These arguments are applicable only because organ trading is illegal. Currently, because organ trading is illegal, it is dangerously unregulated, with shady deals transpiring between donors and recipients. This is precisely what allows the unscrupulous sellers to cheat the desperate patients, and also the reason behind the high sums behind the transactions. If organ selling is legalized, the government could act as an effective third party to ensure everything goes smoothly and is above board. Also, it could help to regulate and subsidize the price of the organs, in order to ensure that the poorer patients would not lose out due to lack of financial resources. With an effective system of checks and balances to prevent any form of abuse, organ trading would be able to proceed smoothly and the people who genuinely need the organs would be able to reap the benefits. We can clearly see how organ trading would benefit us practically, through a greater amount of human lives saved, and economically, with organ trading being a viable source of income for those with lower income. It brings about social benefits as well by enabling those without family or friends to relieve their conditions through the buying of organs.

Therefore, I strongly urge all Singaporeans who oppose organ trading to get off their ethical high horses. Insisting that we outlaw organ trading because it is “just not right” would be tantamount to depriving many people of their health and chances of attaining a better quality of life, for the sake of one's naïve view of the world. We can all see how it would bring about greater benefit than harm, so there is no reason why legalization of it should be prohibited. As I have earlier mentioned, we cannot allow a pompous view of ethics to overrule our better sense and stop us from being practical.

It is rather obvious that legalizing organ trading is in fact, the best step forward for all of us.