KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia. On Friday, Singapore carried out its first execution of a woman in 19 years, marking the second hanging this week for a drug trafficking offense, despite growing calls for the city-state to abolish capital punishment for drug-related crimes.
According to activists, another execution is scheduled for next week.
The woman executed was Saridewi Djamani, aged 45, who was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking approximately 31 grams (1 ounce) of diamorphine, also known as pure heroin, as stated by the Central Narcotics Bureau. The bureau emphasized that the amount of heroin seized was “sufficient to feed the addiction of about 370 abusers for a week.”
Djamani’s execution took place just two days after that of a Singaporean man, Mohammed Aziz Hussain, aged 56, who was executed for trafficking around 50 grams (1.7 ounces) of heroin.
The narcotics bureau confirmed that both prisoners were afforded due process, including the right to appeal their convictions and sentences, and the opportunity to seek presidential clemency.
However, various human rights groups, international activists, and the United Nations have urged Singapore to put an end to executions for drug offenses, arguing that there is mounting evidence that capital punishment is ineffective as a deterrent. Nonetheless, Singaporean authorities maintain that the death penalty is crucial in combating drug demand and supply.
According to human rights organizations, Singapore has executed 15 individuals for drug offenses since it resumed capital punishment by hanging in March 2022, averaging one execution per month.
Anti-death penalty activists pointed out that the last known execution of a woman in Singapore was Yen May Woen, a 36-year-old hairdresser, who was also executed for drug trafficking in 2004.
Transformative Justice Collective, a Singaporean group advocating for the abolition of capital punishment, reported that a new execution notice has been issued for another prisoner on August 3, marking the fifth execution this year alone.
The group identified the prisoner as an ethnic Malay citizen who worked as a delivery driver before his arrest in 2016. He was convicted in 2019 for trafficking approximately 50 grams (1.7 ounces) of heroin, and his appeal was dismissed last year.
According to the group, the man claimed during his trial that he believed he was transporting contraband cigarettes for a friend to whom he owed money, and he did not verify the contents of the bag as he trusted his friend.
The High Court judge ruled that their relationship was not close enough to justify the level of trust he claimed to have had for his friend. Despite being seen as merely a courier by the court, the man was still handed the mandatory death penalty because prosecutors did not issue him a certificate of cooperation.
The group questioned, “But how could he have cooperated if, as he told the police and the court, he had not even been aware that he was being used to deliver heroin?” The group expressed its condemnation of the state’s continued use of the death penalty and reiterated the call for an immediate moratorium on its application.
Critics argue that Singapore’s stringent policy disproportionately affects low-level drug traffickers and couriers, who are often recruited from marginalized groups with vulnerabilities. They also point out that Singapore is out of step with the global trend of more countries moving away from capital punishment. Neighboring Thailand has even legalized cannabis, while Malaysia has recently abolished the mandatory death penalty
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
