September 27, 2016

This week, we feature a short story “Two Among Many” by Prof Philip Holden (NUS Dept of English Language & Literature) that revolves around the lives of two people as their paths intersect in Singapore. The first character is a woman who smuggles drugs across national borders in order to save her brother from overwhelming debt. The second character is an executioner working in a prison in Singapore. “Two Among Many” was inspired by Prof Holden’s experience living in Singapore, and the short story explores his thoughts regarding Singapore’s death penalty laws, colonial experience and economic progress. The short story was also inspired by a real situation—a Vietnamese Australian received the death sentence in Singapore for carrying drugs and was executed in 2005.