Barlow and Chambers execution

[2] Barlow's family made appeals to UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to make a protest about the impending execution, but she declined to do so.

[citation needed] Chambers and his then girlfriend, Susan Cheryl Jacobsen, decided to move to Melbourne to escape Perth's organised crime scene.

[10] The proposed drug run had been openly discussed by John Asciak and Kevin Barlow in the household of Debbie Colyer-Long prior to the event.

[11] Initial plans were that Barlow and Chambers conceal the drugs by inserting some packages into their anuses and swallowing the rest.

Chambers relented and placed the several packages of drugs, which were within plastic carry bags and wrapped in newspaper, into a newly purchased maroon suitcase.

[17] On 23 July the judge rejected Singh's attempt to have Rajasingham disqualified on grounds that he had received confidential information from Barlow in the nine months before the trial when he acted for both of the accused.

The drug habits of Barlow and Chambers were likewise not mentioned at the trial as it would have prejudiced their cases, and exposed the heroin trade inside Malaysian prisons.

Other arguments of the appeal revolved around the credibility of the arresting officer's testimony, and questions of whether Barlow and Chambers acted with a "common purpose" in trafficking in the drugs.

Galbally believed Barlow's shivering could be attributed to a spinal injury; however, Singh reasoned that this was already adequately covered by medical evidence at the trial and in the existing appeal.

At the appeal Singh had argued that Barlow's shivering could be attributed to his existing medical condition, or a foreigner's "unease" at being confronted by police.

After the argument Singh finally left the room, warning Galbally over his shoulder not to criticise Malaysia's British-based legal system or suggest Australia's was superior.

[17] The appeal court on 18 December 1985 upheld the trial judge's decision to invoke the death penalty because the amount of the drug carried was in excess of the 15-gram (0.53 oz) cut-off point used to distinguish users from traffickers.

After the result was publicised Galbally suggested that Barlow would have been found not guilty had the medical evidence he wanted introduced been admitted by the court.

[20] After the rejection of the appeal, Australia's Foreign Minister Bill Hayden contacted the Governor of Penang asking that the sentence be commuted to imprisonment on humanitarian grounds.

Hayden stated that "I have always been and remain firmly opposed to capital punishment, and accordingly I will be pressing the presentation of this appeal for clemency with a great sense of urgency.

However, in a joint letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Malaysian head of state) Sultan Iskandar pleading for their lives, they acknowledged their sons' guilt, saying they "regretted their wrongdoing.

She prepared the mixture of 75 sleeping tablets dissolved in gin, whisky and brandy in her hotel room and smuggled it into the prison in a small plastic bottle concealed in her handbag.

As Australian public support for Barlow and Chambers was minimal, Malaysia risked little diplomatic damage from carrying out the execution.

[19] Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke made a passionate plea for a stay of execution on behalf of the two men.

"[26] At a press conference that was held after the hangings Mahathir criticised the use of the word "barbaric" and said it should not have been used to refer to Malaysia because "we have never had any lynchings and things like that which only barbarians like to do."

He argued that the consequences of drug trafficking were well known in Malaysia, and the need for strong deterrents to eliminate the activity was accepted internationally.

They said it gave the impression Australia belittled Malaysian law and "considers the capital punishment meted out to the two as uncivilised and unsuitable for this day and age."

[29] After their sentencing an investigative trip by Detective Sergeant Carl Mengler of the National Crime Authority of Australia had included interviews with various Australians imprisoned in South East Asia for drug trafficking.

Chambers had refused to meet him but Barlow gave information about the planning of the trip; however, he knew only sketchy details of the organisers.

[31] In June 1988 in Perth, Western Australia, John Asciak was found guilty of conspiring with Barlow and Chambers to import 179 grams of heroin.

The court heard Asciak recruited Barlow, who he knew had financial problems, and offered him $6,000 to conduct the drug run.