Singapore says Nguyen must hang.

(From Canberra Times)

Singapore has broken its silence on the impending execution of an Australian convicted of drug running, suggesting his family should prepare for his death.

It declared yesterday it would not make an exception from its tough stand on drugs to spare the life of 25-year-old Melbourne man Nguyen Tuong Van, the Government saying he had been given a fair trial. But Australia has again pleaded for clemency and Nguyen's lawyer still held out hope that the decision could be changed.

In Singapore, a Singaporean lawyer and activist who has handled other death-penalty cases, M Ravi, said the execution could be carried out next Thursday Nguyen has been on death row for 18 months after being …