I WOULD like to add a few comments to Aled Jones' brief, but direct letter (Strict Laws Can Stop The Gun Massacres, The Press, April 21).

Laws relating to offences where guns are involved have tightened considerably over the last few years in this country.

Most notable, perhaps, is the mandatory five-year sentence for possession of an unlicensed firearm.

However, I doubt whether this legislation is sufficient to deter hardened criminals and gang members.

For that matter, it would hardly stop a deranged maniac, determined to slaughter innocents in a learning institution.

One of the countries with the strictest and most efficient gun laws is Singapore.

Here it is a capital offence to be in possession of an illegal firearm, and in fact a number of executions have been carried out in recent years for this crime.

Among certain elements of the community, guns are an in demand commodity, and can be purchased quickly and cheaply. Likewise with ammunition.

Bringing them into the country presents no great problem for criminal masterminds.

I can recall about 30 years ago, in a South Pacific country, the authorities were baffled by the number of guns that suddenly appeared on the street.

Investigations revealed some of these items were being brought in as spare parts for motor vehicles, and then assembled into well-known makes of handguns.

Others were found inside the panelling of the fuselage of aircraft.

And even though these two rackets were quickly quashed, guns still managed to find their way into the country.

The fight to control this evil could well be as big as that to stem the influx of controlled drugs. It needs to be done, though.

Allowing people to purchase a registered gun, as we have seen in America, does not work.

The more guns, the more killings.

J H Roy, Hadrian Avenue, York.