HONG KONG (AP) – Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas from his family and protests from activists that he had been convicted on weak evidence.
Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for complicity in trafficking 1 kilo of cannabis. Under Singaporean law, trafficking in excess of 500 grams of cannabis can result in the death penalty.
Activist Kirsten Han of the Transformative Justice Collective, which advocates for the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore, said in a tweet that Tangaraju had been hanged on Wednesday morning and his family had been given the death certificate.
While Tangaraju was not caught with the cannabis, prosecutors said phone numbers could trace him as the person responsible for coordinating the delivery of the drugs. Tangaraju had maintained that he was not the one communicating with the others involved in the case.
Relatives and activists had sent letters to Singapore President Halimah Yacob begging for a pardon. In a video posted by the Transformative Justice Collective, Tangaraju’s niece and nephew appealed to the public to raise their concerns with the government about Tangaraju’s impending execution.
A request for a stay of execution filed by Tangaraju on Monday was rejected without a hearing on Tuesday.
Critics say Singapore’s death penalty has mainly entrapped low-ranking mules and has done little to deter drug traffickers and organized syndicates. But the Singapore government says all those executed have been given full due process under the law and that the death penalty is necessary to protect its citizens.
British billionaire Richard Branson, who is outspoken against the death penalty, had also called for an end to the execution in a blog post, saying that “Singapore is about to kill an innocent man.”
Singapore authorities criticized Branson’s allegations, stating that he had shown disrespect for the Singaporean justice system as evidence had shown that Tangaraju was guilty.
Speaking at a United Nations human rights briefing on Tuesday, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani called on the Singapore government to establish a “formal moratorium” on executions for drug-related crimes.
“Imposing the death penalty for drug offenses is incompatible with international norms and standards,” said Shamdasani, adding that mounting evidence shows that the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent.
Singapore authorities say there is a deterrent effect in the city-state, where traffickers transport quantities that do not exceed the threshold that would result in a death penalty.
The island nation’s tough stance on the death penalty for drugs contrasts with that of its neighboring countries. Thailand has essentially legalized cannabis and Malaysia has abolished the mandatory death penalty for serious crimes.
