500gms

 

Young lad in his twenties was going in later that day for 5 1/2 years. His father came over to indicate his presence at the usual table under the veranda. The day before the dad had revealed the matter during the course of detailing his own history with the justice system here. In his case man had been sentenced to hang. After a six month process of appeals and $79k legal fees provided by his brother, the chap escaped the noose. Six months on death row, how was that endured? how did he cope? Unfortunately, only blanks came back; there was little to say. Don’t think too much, one of the common standbys among the Malays, was offered. Otherwise prayer and exercise. (Earlier the fellow had been far from observant.) The man's own dad had stood by him throughout, as had the wife and all the other siblings. The mother was dead by then. One thing was he didn’t want the children brought in for visits; that was too much. The man said he couldn’t cry, if he was heard right. Perhaps he didn’t want the children to set him off. The partner and friend, close friend who was looked upon as an abang, elder brother had his sentence carried out. When it came down to it, for defence the pair had blamed each other; the evidence supporting this particular man. Luck in his favour, he said. The son was indeed a chip off the old block. Carbon copy, dad said; meaning the physical characteristics. Coming up to the table, the strong resemblance was clear. Busy texting on his phone, the lad gave only a brief look. He had been in before, dad said. Dad too had been in a number of times, apart from the last occasion. Dad had taken a second wife over in Batam. His sons knew, but not his daughters. The first wife also didn't know. The reported screaming and dragging out confirmed earlier reports. There had been pills offered for settling nerves, which the man had declined. The young lad later went to his bike parked along the side fence of the market and rode off alone, presumably not to the prison just yet. Married and fathered a child; the earlier sentence had also been for possession and dealing. Twenty years ago when the senior had been sentenced to capital punishment, he had been in his thirties; not much older than his boy now. Dope both cases. Singapore's position on it in the current liberalisation in so many jurisdictions complicated matters now. Chap had been told about Ronald Ryan in Melbourne back in the mid-60s. Five or six weeks ago the man had popped up out of the scrum at the market, helloes progressing to fist bumps and eventually chat. Only friends knew of his history, even twenty years later. Now for some unknown reason, the white guy was included. The worry of course was the quantity next time for the lad.