“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment.”

- JRR Tolkien, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’

Here is a thought. Instead of all those protests against US President Donald Trump’s travel ban, oppositional voices should instead attempt to highlight the plight of a mother, A Letchumi, who at this very moment is pleading with anyone to save the life of her son, K Datchinamurthy, who is convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death in Singapore.

These “children of Malaysia” are the forgotten children; those children that the state has deemed transgressed against the state. While politicians and their cronies steal money from public coffers and practice divisive politics, these children - drug mules to capitalists of the black economy who bribe and conspire with state actors - face the ultimate punishment.

For most, the sin and the sinner are the same. This is especially so when it comes to drug-related offences. Looking back at my notes and the many of the articles I have written about crime, punishment and the state security apparatus, the names of lawyers N Surendran, Latheefa Koya and of late, Raul Lee Bhaskaran, keep cropping up. I am grateful for the work they and many others like them do for people who are marginalised and disenfranchised from the democratic process.

While I do not support the death penalty, I would make an exception when it comes to corruption. Maybe China has got it right. Last year, Time magazine reported exactly how much money a Chinese official could take in bribes before the state executed him or her.

“How much is an errant Chinese official’s life worth? Three million renminbi, or US$463,000, according to a statement released on April 18 by Chinese judicial authorities. The legal clarification makes the death penalty applicable to anyone who either embezzles, or accepts bribes of, that sum or more. But in certain “especially serious” instances “with extremely vile impact,” like when officials embezzle disaster-relief funds, stealing half that can be grounds for death by firing squad.”

I do not know about anyone else but the sight of mother pleading for the help of officials from a state mired in corruption scandals, which would get them the firing squad if convicted in China, is tragic and points to the absurdity of the world we live in.

However, most people do not care about the fate of a convicted drug mule facing the death penalty in Singapore. Indeed when it comes to human rights, drugs and the death penalty, most people couldn’t care less about these people, believing they deserve what they get. Indeed as a human rights issue, it does not move people because ultimately nobody cares about the fate of criminals.

It should be noted that also present at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur was Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign founder M Ravi.