Man is hanged in Singapore for possessing 1 kilogramme of marijuana

Despite a request from the United Nations Human Rights Office for Singapore to “urgently reconsider” the execution and calls from British tycoon Richard Branson to halt it, the execution went ahead.

Singapore: According to officials, Singapore executed a prisoner on Wednesday who had been found guilty of planning to smuggle one kilogramme of marijuana, defying international calls for the city-state to abolish the death penalty.

The United Nations Human Rights Office urged Singapore to “urgently reconsider” the hanging, and British tycoon Richard Branson called for an end to the execution. Nevertheless, it went forward.

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Singaporean Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was executed today at the Changi Prison Complex, according to a spokesman for the Singapore Prisons Service, who spoke to AFP.

Tangaraju was found guilty in 2017 of “abetting by engaging in a conspiracy to traffic” 1,017.9 grammes (35.9 ounces) of cannabis, which was more than twice the minimum amount required for a death sentence in Singapore.

In 2018, he was sentenced to death, and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision.

Tangaraju was “not anywhere near” the drugs at the time of his arrest, according to Branson, a member of the Geneva-based Global Commission on Drug Policy, who wrote Monday on his blog that Singapore may be about to execute an innocent man.

Tangaraju’s guilt had been established beyond a reasonable doubt, the Home Affairs Ministry of Singapore retorted on Tuesday.

The ministry claimed that two mobile phone numbers that the prosecution claimed to be his were used to organise the drug deliveries.

Cannabis has been decriminalised in many countries, including Thailand, a neighbour, and authorities there no longer impose prison sentences. As a result, pressure has been mounting on Singapore to do the same.

The financial hub of Asia has some of the strictest anti-drug laws in the world and maintains that the death penalty is still a powerful deterrent against trafficking.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, however, is in disagreement.

The OHCHR stated in a statement on Tuesday that “the death penalty is still being used in a small number of countries, largely due to the myth that it deters crime.”

The family of Tangaraju demanded a new trial while also pleading for mercy.

The city-state has executed 12 people since last year, the 12th being on Wednesday.

In March 2022, Singapore resumed executions after a break of more than two years.

The execution of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, who was believed to have a mental disability, led to a worldwide outcry, including from the United Nations and Richard Branson. He was one of those who were hanged.

The death penalty has not been shown to be a successful deterrent on a global scale, according to the UN, and it is in conflict with international human rights law, which only permits the death penalty for the most serious crimes.