2023-07-25 15:17:00
Singapore: Singapore will reportedly hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in 20 years. A 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin will be hanged tomorrow at Changi Prison in the Southeast Asian city-state, local right-wing group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) said.
The 45-year-old female convict, identified by the TJC as Saridevi Jamani, will also be sent to the gallows on Friday. They were sentenced to death in 2018 for smuggling 30 grams of heroin. TJC activist Kokila Annamalai said this would be the first woman sentenced to death in Singapore since 36-year-old hairdresser Yen Mei Won was hanged for drug trafficking in 2004. The TJC said the two prisoners were Singaporean nationals and their families had been notified of the execution dates.
Meanwhile, prison officials did not respond to emailed queries sent by AFP seeking confirmation. Singapore imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including common murder and kidnapping. It also includes some of the toughest anti-drug laws in the world. Under the country’s law, smuggling more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin is punishable by death.
At least 13 people have been hanged since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rights watchdog Amnesty International called on Singapore on Tuesday to halt the impending executions.
Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty’s death penalty expert, said in a statement that it was “unconscionable” that Singaporean authorities continue to carry out more executions in the name of drug control. There is no evidence that the death penalty has a specific deterrent effect or that it has any effect on the use and availability of drugs.
Ms Sangiorgio added that while countries around the world are abolishing the death penalty and adopting drug policy reform, Singaporean authorities are doing nothing. Meanwhile, Singapore argues that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.
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