Partner Gerard Reve
Queer Places:
Nieuwe Markt 12, 6001 EL Weert, Netherlands
Augustinus Lambertus Antonius (Guus) van Bladel (Waalwijk, 13 September 1931 - Malacca (Malaysia), 1 November 2016)[1] was a Dutch social worker and writer, best known for the social counsellor of two Dutch people who were arrested and prosecuted for drug smuggling in Singapore: Maria Krol and Johannes van Damme. Krol was unexpectedly released, but Van Damme was the first European to be sentenced to death and hanged in Singapore in 1994. Van Bladel wrote two books about his experiences with Krol and Van Damme, 'Women's Prison Singapore' and 'Stopover Singapore'.
Guus van Bladel was the oldest child in a family with six children. After three years of HBS he joined the Royal Netherlands Navy. From 1960 he held office positions at various companies. At that time he met Gerard Reve through the COC, who became his roommate for a few years and also called Van Bladel his 'half-brother'[2]. After Van Bladel became seriously ill and incapacitated in 1976, he moved with his brother in Singapore. However, Van Bladel healed and decided to stay in Singapore. There he was involved in the voluntary supervision of prisoners in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. He received awards for this from the governments of Singapore and Malaysia. Between 1991 and 1994, Van Bladel accompanied two Dutch people who - independently of each other - had been arrested almost simultaneously with a large amount of heroin in their possession. At the time, Singapore had the mandatory death penalty for anyone in possession of more than 15 grams of heroin. Van Bladel visited both Dutchmen weekly in prison. Maria Krol was unexpectedly acquitted by the court, but Johannes van Damme was sentenced to death and hanged in September 1994. In the period surrounding the execution, Van Bladel was regularly interviewed by the Dutch media. Despite the fact that a kind of friendship developed between Van Damme and Van Bladel over the years, Van Bladel remained behind Singapore's strict legal system all the while. Years later, he said that he thought it was right that the Singapore government had not made an exception for a highly educated Dutchman.[3] For his assistance to prisoners, Van Bladel was knighted in 1995. In 2001, Van Bladel moved to Malaysia. There he continued to visit prisoners until old age. He was also committed to the preservation of Dutch heritage in Malacca. Van Bladel died on 1 November 2016. He was cremated in Malacca.
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