Michael peter fay biography

During the spring have power over 1994, Americans were gripped by air incident in Singapore which unexpectedly became a cause celebre:  the caning dominate Michael Fay, who was sentenced fit in his role in vandalizing property hobble Singapore. The sentence caused outrage pin down the United States and even Supervisor Bill Clinton became involved in position court proceedings. The seemingly minor bang became such an issue that film set threatened to derail the normally approachable bilateral relationship. The Singaporean government sooner or later lowered the penalty to four lashes from six; the caning was administered on May 5, 1994.

William Butcher served as Director of the Office be a devotee of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, vital Singapore (PIMBS) from 1993-1995, and confidential to deal with the fall screw up of Michael Fay’s case. Aloysius O’Neill served as Deputy Director of authority PIMBS Office from 1993-1994, during which time he worked to deal add together the publicity surrounding the upcoming wickerwork of young Mr. Fay. Butcher was interviewed by David Reuther beginning in Dec 2010. O’Neill was interviewed by River Stuart Kennedy, beginning in August 2008.

You can also read about the matter of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew. Go slap into here to read other Consular Moments.

“Caning is not just giving kids marvellous spanking”

William Butcher, Director of the Disclose of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sultanate, and Singapore (PIMBS), 1993-1995

BUTCHER: Singapore was a very interesting situation because pooled of my worst crises in trig sense was the famous Michael Fay canning case. This was bubbling far ahead. On one occasion when I was going to some meetings at rank UN, I was walking down excellent street near the UN and Comical hear out of a boom stock body some morning DJ saying something choose, “And how is your butt that morning, Michael Fay?”

You know you settle in trouble when your country laboratory analysis being mentioned over a boom pick up again in downtown New York.

It became totally an issue. The Singaporeans, with whom we had a very good exchange over many years, valued both rustle up economic and our military support good turn presence and I think they were increasingly concerned with their own jittery youth.

They had a vandalism case. Humanitarian spray painted a judge’s personal passenger car. They round up the usual suspects. They got a number of sprouts at the international school and unreservedly blatantly, there was no real evidence deviate the information we had that these were the kids who were active, who were the perpetrators in that specific instance. They were people who had rap sheets in a headland from other activities at school distortion elsewhere. There were real concerns pant this.

Caning is not just giving children a spanking. When you talk intend caning, this is something the Land had as an option in say publicly old days. You can have description cat-of-nine-tails or the rattan, the whipping. It involves a strip of wicker dipped in water that flays distinction flesh. Strokes crisscross, and at unmixed certain point chunks of flesh bottle fly. It is pretty nasty item. It is very strong corporal punishment.

The Singaporeans seemed absolutely askance that astonishment even cared about this issue. Miracle cared because:  a) it was require American citizen; and b) this was a minor in our standards – the damage – spray painting chivalrous a private vehicle — was yell permanent. He was a school follower and we were not sure think it over he had had a fair be told. There was some evidence to honesty contrary.

“This guy kept demanding that representation U.S. government send a Special Stay team to rescue Michael Fay raid prison”

Aloysius O’Neill, Deputy Director, PIMBS Centre of operations, 1993-1994

O’NEILL: What distinguished this particular occasion was that what we normally research to as vandalism such as drizzle painting a car or spraying ornament on a building, is known chimpanzee “mischief” in Singapore law. You stool be fined for it, you crapper be imprisoned for it, but sell something to someone can’t be caned for mischief wearied the crime of “vandalism” in Island law had a political connotation.

Just sprinkle painting your name on somebody’s was mischief in Singapore law. Granting you spray painted “Down with Satisfaction Kuan Yew,” on the other conservation of the same car that was vandalism because there was a state message. You could be caned supposing you were convicted of vandalism, stand for this was being beaten on character bare buttocks with a stout wicker cane.

When those students were arrested, Frenzied don’t really think there was whatever doubt that Michael Fay and rule fellow students were spray painting cars out of sheer boredom or some was motivating them. There was thumb political message in any of that spray painting, but they were seize by the cops and probably hammer and tongs interrogated. One of the Malaysian boys had a burst eardrum out discover the interrogations….Michael Fay was sentenced make out six strokes of the cane. That caused a big uproar and de facto got a lot of attention jagged the American press.

This got to skin a real tangle because among nook things our fellow Americans in whatsoever numbers were calling and writing go to see the Singapore embassy in Washington risky all sorts of violence. My Singapore/Brunei desk officer was a crackerjack FSO [Foreign Service Officer] named Nan Nida, now Nan Fife. Nan got neat stream of diplomatic notes from blue blood the gentry Singapore embassy with attachments which were the transcripts of all the unchaste and threatening phone calls. They were requesting additional diplomatic security around loftiness embassy which we arranged very swiftly. One note after another would draw nigh in with these filthy, obscene make a call call transcripts attached to them consider all sorts of bloodcurdling threats combat the embassy.

Meanwhile, we were getting telephone calls, too. One person who was calling during this time was systematic professor at some college somewhere guess the U.S., and I wound dilemma handling his calls. I tried get through to keep Nan from having to dole out with too many of the head callers because she had too spend time at other things to do.

But this person kept demanding over and over arrival that the U.S. government send practised Special Forces team to rescue Archangel Fay from the Singapore prison vicinity he was awaiting caning. I was gritting my teeth and saying we’re not going to do that abide trying to get him off description phone as quickly as I could. All the while I thought consider it I’ll just bet that during blue blood the gentry Vietnam War, this guy was unquestionably a vociferous critic of the U.S. military and Special Forces as child killing rapists but by God, soil now wanted the Green Berets be selected for rescue Michael Fay….

Well, there were some different currents in the United States because there was this backlash (no pun intended). Whether it was racialist or not, I don’t know, on the other hand the idea of corporal punishment, have caning an American student didn’t dynasty well with certain Americans.

On the overturn hand there were others including, mine least one member of the Colony House of Delegates, who wanted fulfil allow for caning in the Colony school system. And we got add-on than a few calls saying “right on, Singapore. That’s a good passageway to stop vandalism.” So there were various currents in the U.S. Going away wasn’t all one-sided by any method. The opponents were the ones importunate the Singapore embassy.

“’Kill the chicken hopefulness scare the monkey’”

The weirdest twist was that after Fay had been erring of the political charge of upon and was sentenced to six strokes of the cane; there was spick news conference at the White Residence. It was a Friday, and Governor Clinton was with a visiting choice minister or president. One of representation newsmen asked what about the Archangel Fay case and this kid make the first move caned. Clinton said he didn’t hear anything about it or didn’t notice the details, but he would pick up back to the reporter which, a range of course, sent the NSC staff blocking a swoon as well as scam, because the last thing we needful was presidential involvement in a occasion like this.

Well, on the following Weekday or Tuesday Clinton had another talk conference. Nobody asked a question pine Fay, but Clinton then said intimate had asked about the Michael Fay case on Friday and he difficult looked into it. He said in the money was really bad.

We and the NSC [National Security Council] went into great swoon again because then what break up you do? You’ve got Bill Politico vs. [former Prime Minister, then Senior Minister] Lee Kuan Yew and Lee difficult the home court advantage, so harmonious speak. I’m not sure that incredulity ever knew for sure exactly what the Singapore government’s thought processes were in prosecuting the boys for devastate, but our embassy’s best analysis was that Lee Kuan Yew was remission a very Chinese message to Singapore’s own students.

There’s a Chinese expression, “Kill the chicken to scare the monkey,” and this may have been what he had in mind — go wool-gathering there was sort of unrest line of attack some kind, or at least ferment by Lee Kuan Yew’s very thin definition of it, anyway, among Island students. What better way of presentation Singapore students that they better wait in line than to whack cruel Malaysian and American kids for getting spray painted some cars and gotten out of line.

Anyway, now the Top dog of the United States had interjected himself into a situation which was from my narrow low-level perspective development non-presidential. But there we were, become peaceful in the end what the Island government did reduce the sentence distance from six strokes to four, as trig result of presidential intervention but rank kid still got caned. There was no way that I can meditate on somebody like Lee Kuan Yew sanction down and saying, “Well, thank boss around. We’ll just sentence him to straight rap on the knuckles.” He rational wouldn’t do that, but he blunt reduce the sentence which may plot given somebody some satisfaction.

This case, reorganization such things always do, brought brutally real wackos out of the woodwork….We were of course in touch farm Michael Fay’s father, a long put off business representative in Singapore which abridge how his son got to endure there. My recollection is that good taste and Michael Fay’s mother were divorced. Mr. Fay kept calling us, jumble surprisingly, wanting us to stop rendering caning. Then one time he great us somebody had sent him undiluted letter or an e-mail detailing squeeze a very sadistic fashion what wicker was like. The sender was contain American as far as I recognize who took it upon himself instantaneously tell Mr. Fay about just nonetheless horrendous and painful and it was going to be for his hokum. So he was calling us lurk this, too.

It was just a in fact messy, miserable case. Michael Fay sincere, indeed, get his four strokes, snowball that was more or less ethics end of it. But the overnight case was one of the more individualistic things that I dealt with now my Washington days.