Singapore: Second drug-related execution within three weeks

21-05-2023

Alicia Mankel

Southeast Asia and Pacific and Human Rights Researchers

Global Human Rights Defence

A Singaporean man has been sentenced to death and executed for possession of less than 3.5 pounds (around 1.5 kgs) of cannabis (The New York Times, 2023). The man, whose name was not disclosed due to his family’s wish for privacy, had been imprisoned and convicted of drug trafficking in 2019 and had previously sought to have his case reopened but was eventually dismissed without a hearing by the Singapore court on Tuesday 16 May 2023 (ABC News, 2023). 

This is the second death sentence carried out for drug trafficking in three weeks on the island nation of Singapore (ABC News, 2023; The New York Times, 2023). As a part of its “comprehensive harm prevention strategy”, Singapore is known for targeting the demand and supply of drugs demand and imposing capital punishment – a strategy that human rights watchdogs continuously condemn as completely excessive (The New York Times, 2023). 

Sources and further reading:

The Associated Press (2023, May 17). Singapore hangs 2nd citizen in 3 weeks for trafficking cannabis despite calls to halt executions. ABC News. Retrieved 2023, May 21 from https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/singapore-hangs-2nd-citizen-3-weeks-trafficking-cannabis-99383469 

Yoon, John (2023, May 18). Singapore Hangs Man in Second Drug-Related Execution in Three Weeks. The New York Times. Retrieved 2023, May 21 from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/world/asia/singapore-marijuana-execution.html