by the associated press: Singapore executed another citizen on Wednesday for smuggling cannabis, the second in three weeks, as it held firm on the death penalty despite growing calls for the city-state to stop drug-related executions .
Activist Kokila Annamalai of the Transformative Justice Collective, which advocates for the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore, said the 37-year-old was dismissed without a hearing by the court on Tuesday after a last-ditch effort to have his case reopened.
The man, who was not named by his family for the sake of privacy, was imprisoned for seven years and convicted in 2019 for trafficking about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of cannabis, she said.
He said his bid to have his case reopened was based on DNA evidence and fingerprints that linked him to a small amount of money he admitted to possessing, but was rejected by the court.
Under Singaporean law, smuggling more than 500 grams (1.1 lb) of cannabis can be punishable by death.
“If we don’t come together to stop this, we fear this killing spree will continue in the weeks and months to come,” she said. He said the city-state has about 600 inmates on death row, mostly for drug-related crimes.
Singapore executed 11 people last year for drug offences, after a gap of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The execution of a particular Malaysian believed to be mentally disabled has sparked international outrage and brought the country’s death penalty under scrutiny for human rights violations.
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Three weeks ago, Singaporean Tangaraju Supiah, 46, was hanged for the first time this year for smuggling 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cannabis, although he was not caught with the drugs. Prosecutors said the phone numbers traced him to the person responsible for coordinating the distribution of the drugs, which he denied.
protest against the death penalty
Human rights groups, British mogul Richard Branson and the United Nations have urged Singapore to end the death penalty for drug-related crimes as mounting evidence suggests the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent.
But Singapore authorities insist that all prisoners receive due process of law and that the death penalty is “part of Singapore’s comprehensive harm prevention strategy that targets both drug demand and supply.”
Besides Singapore, Amnesty International said Indonesia carried out 112 drug-related executions by firing squad last year after a hiatus since 2016.
In contrast, neighboring Thailand has legalized cannabis while Malaysia has abolished the mandatory death penalty for serious crimes.