Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Singapore executes two drug traffickers despite pleas for clemency

Singapore executes two drug traffickers despite pleas for clemency

Singapore on Thursday executed two men for drug trafficking, ignoring pleas for mercy from human rights campaigners who fear "a new wave" of hangings in the Asian city state notorious for its strict drugs laws.
Singaporean Norasharee bin Gous, 48, and Malaysian national Kalwant Singh, 31, had their capital sentences carried out on Thursday at Changi Prison Complex, the Singapore Prison Service told CNN in an email.

Their executions come just two months after Singapore controversially hanged a man with intellectual disabilities for drug trafficking and bring the total number of death sentences carried out by the country this year to four.

In a statement Tuesday, Singapore authorities said Norasharee and Singh -- both convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to the mandatory death penalty -- had exhausted their legal appeals.

Both men had been on death row for the past six years while numerous campaigners called for clemency. The two executions "appear to be part of a new wave" of hangings in Singapore, Amnesty International Malaysia said in a statement earlier this week.

According to the Central Narcotics Bureau, both men were sentenced to death in June 2016. Singh had been found guilty of possessing 60.15 grams (2.1 ounces) of heroin and trafficking in 120.9 grams of the drug, while Norasharee was convicted of soliciting a man to traffic 120.9 grams of heroin.

In Singapore, trafficking a certain amount of drugs -- for example, 15 grams (0.5 ounces) of heroin -- results in a mandatory death sentence under the Misuse of Drugs Act, though the law was recently amended to allow for a convicted person to escape the death penalty in certain circumstances.

In April, Singapore executed Malaysian citizen Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, 34, in a case that sparked international outcry following psychologists' assessment he was intellectually disabled with an IQ of 69.

Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for trafficking 42.7 grams (1.5 ounces) of heroin then convicted and sentenced to death in 2010.

Singapore's courts rejected multiple appeals to overturn Dharmalingan's execution, in which his lawyers argued he should not have been sentenced to death because he was incapable of understanding his actions.

The case put the city-state's zero-tolerance drug laws back under scrutiny, with human rights advocates arguing the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking is an inhumane punishment.

Amnesty International's deputy regional director for research Emerlynne Gil on Thursday urged Singapore to immediately impose a moratorium on executions. "Singapore has once again executed people convicted of drug-related offenses in violation of international law, callously disregarding public outcry," Gill said.

Campaigners say tough drug laws in many Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, have done little to stop the region's multibillion-dollar illicit drug trade.

"The government of Singapore's persistence in maintaining and utilising the death penalty has only led to global condemnation and tarnishes Singapore's image as a developed nation governed by the rule of law," the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network said in a statement on June 30.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukrainian Drone Barrage Kills Eight and Strikes Russian Logistics Network
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
The Monaco Bombing Has Become a Test of Ukraine’s Intelligence Accountability
Leadership Change and Strategic Rivalry Redraw the Political Map
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Britain Nationalises British Steel to Protect Scunthorpe Production and Strategic Supply
French National Assembly Overrides Senate to Pass Historic Assisted-Dying Legislation
Spanish Prime Minister's Wife Ordered to Stand Trial as Corruption Probes Encircle Governing Party
Zelensky Faces Kyiv Protests Over Ousting of Dynamic Ukrainian Defense Minister
Thomas Tuchel Faces Fierce Backlash After Tactical Retreat Costs England World Cup Final Berth
A Quiet Bastille Day: France Grapples with World Cup Heartbreak and Leftover Fireworks
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
Spain and UK Dismantle Gibraltar Border Following Landmark Schengen Integration Treaty
Hungary's "Puppet" President to Be Ousted, Orbán Fumes: "Democracy Is Dead"
Forget Tinder: The Surprising Platform Where People Find Love
Harvard Astrophysicist to Lead U.S. Scientific Advisory on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
Emergency Sirens Activated Across Bahrain as Interior Ministry Issues Shelter Directives
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
Netflix Weighs Always-On Channels, Bundles and Short-Form Video
Passenger Is Pulled Partly Outside Ryanair Jet After Window Fails Mid-Flight
The AI Invoice Shock: Layoffs Didn't Save Managers Money — They Cost Them More
Concern: Sexually Transmitted Bacterium Among Men Develops Antibiotic Resistance
Passenger Partially Pulled Out of Ryanair Jet After Cabin Window Fails Mid-Flight
Severe Heatwave Drives Dangerous Ground-Level Ozone Pollution Across Two Thirds of European Union
The Physical and Electronic Barriers Disrupting Domestic Wireless Networks
France and Morocco Open World Cup Quarter-Finals as Collina Defends Refereeing
Tech Pulse: The Future of AI and Screen Culture
Global News Briefing: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions and Corporate Shakeups
Global News Brief: Escalating Conflicts, Public Health Crises, and World Cup Drama
French Court Allows Le Pen to Run for Presidency, but with an Electronic Tag: "I Will Appeal, and I Will Run"
$1.4 Trillion: The Lawsuit That Could Crush Meta
Europe's Growing Struggle with Extreme Heat and Air Conditioning
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Logic Flaw in Windows 11 Permission Architecture Silently Consumes Hundreds of Gigabytes of Local Storage
Apple Advances Late-Stage Operating Systems with Fourth Beta Deployments
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
×