Global Courant 2023-05-17 12:55:18
The execution is the second in three weeks and comes amid growing concern over the city-state’s application of the death penalty for drug crimes.
Singapore has hanged a man for trafficking cannabis, its second execution in three weeks.
The 37-year-old ethnic Malay Singaporean was executed at dawn on Wednesday at Changi Prison on the island’s east coast after a last-minute attempt to reopen his case was rejected by the appeals court without a hearing.
The man, who was not named because his family asked for privacy, was convicted in 2019 of trafficking about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of cannabis, said Kokila Annamalai of the Transformative Justice Collective, which campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore. .
His attempt to reopen the case relied on DNA evidence and fingerprints that tied him to a much smaller sum, which he admitted to owning, but the court rejected, she added.
On April 26, Singapore hanged 46-year-old Tangaraju Suppiah for trafficking more than 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of cannabis, despite last-minute pleas for clemency from his family and activists that had attracted international attention.
They argued that Tangaraju had not received adequate legal advice and had been denied access to a Tamil interpreter when questioned by police.
Under Singaporean law, trafficking more than 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of cannabis can be punishable by death.
“If we don’t come together to stop it, we fear that this killing spree will continue for weeks and months to come,” Annamalai told The Associated Press news agency.
After a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore hanged 11 people last year – all for drug offences.
The execution a year ago of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian with an intellectual disability, caused particular outrage and sparked rare protests in the city-state where demonstrations are strictly controlled.
Under international human rights law, countries that maintain the death penalty are only allowed to use it for “the most serious crimes” involving intentional killing.
But the Singapore Ministry of the Interior states that the death penalty “an essential part of Singapore’s criminal justice system and has been effective in keeping Singapore safe.”
Authorities say all detainees will receive a fair trial.
In a March report, the drug policy reform group Harm Reduction International (HRI) found that despite a global shift toward abolition, there were at least 285 executions for drugs last year, more than double the previous year.
“This figure probably only reflects a percentage of all drug-related executions worldwide,” HRI said, noting the extreme secrecy surrounding the death penalty in many countries that use it most, including China, Vietnam and North Korea.
