Singapore executes man for trafficking 1kg of cannabis

A Singaporean man was hanged today for trafficking 2.2lb (1kg) of cannabis into the country, despite last-minute appeals for leniency from his family and human-rights groups.

Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was executed at Changi prison. His family confirmed that they have been given Tangaraju’s death certificate, according to an update on Twitter by anti-death penalty campaigner Kirsten Han.

The execution is the first in six months in Singapore (after 11 were carried out last year, all for drug trafficking) and was criticised by human-rights groups and activists for its severity and for the accused allegedly receiving limited legal access.

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The hanging comes “at a time when many other nations, including neighboring countries, have adopted a more lenient approach towards drugs and capital punishment”, CNN said.

Tangaraju was sentenced to death in 2018 for “abetting the trafficking of more than one kilogram of cannabis (1,017.9 grams)”, according to Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). Records of phone communication were found between him and two men who had been caught trying to smuggle cannabis into Singapore.

However, prior to his execution, activists and family members had raised questions about the convictions and appealed for clemency. The European Union and the United Nations also called for Singapore not to carry out his hanging.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said the evidence against Tangaraju was “far from clear cut – since he never actually touched the marijuana in question, was questioned by police without a lawyer, and denied access to a Tamil interpreter when he asked for one”, Al Jazeera reported.

Amnesty International described the execution as “unlawful” and insisted that the case “violated international law and standards”.

According to Robertson: “Singapore’s continued use of the death penalty for drug possession is a human rights outrage that makes much of the world recoil and wonder whether the image of modern, civilised Singapore is just a mirage.”

Advocacy groups claim that there is very little evidence that the death penalty acts as a deterrent. But the Singaporean government “points to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2021, which indicated that some 83 percent of Singaporeans believe the death penalty does deter drug trafficking”, said The Atlantic.