[Arkacia]

These countries have big problems with drugs and the death penalty is one of the ways they are trying to combat that. The simple way to avoid it is to not posess or traffic drugs in any of these nations.

The point I'm trying to make is these people go into these nation knowing what the penalty is, commit the crime, then expect to be treated differently and receive light sentences because they are Australian. When you are in another nation, you are a guest in that nation and are fully expected to follow its laws. The simple fact is that these nations have the death penalty for drugs and every Australian knows that. If they are stupid enough to take the risk and get caught, why should they be treated any differently to a native citizen of that country who commits the same crime?

I remember years ago an American teenager who, with a group of native teens, went on a vandalisim spree in Singapore. They were caught and part of the punishment for the whole group, normal for that crime in that nation, was 10 hits (I think, it may have been 20) with a cane.

The furore over this by the American government and its citizens was amazing. They didn't care less what happened to the others, but the condemnation against Singapore for daring to impose its laws on an equal basis on one of their teens was loud and disgusting. The main whinge was "he is American, we don't do that here, how dare you do it to him". Personally I think it was fair enough, he deserved what he got, and the Americans had no right to poke their noses into another nations business.

How does that old saying go again, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime.