HONG KONG – Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis shipment, despite pleas for clemency from his family and protests by activists that he had been convicted on weak evidence.
Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for complicity in trafficking 2.2 pounds of marijuana.
Under Singapore law, trafficking over 500 grams of marijuana may end up in the death penalty.
Tangaraju was hanged on Wednesday morning and a death certificate was issued to his family, in keeping with a tweet by activist Kirsten Han of the Transformative Justice Collective, who advocates the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore.
Although Tangaraju was not caught with marijuana, prosecutors said he was the person responsible for coordinating drug deliveries, in keeping with the phone numbers.
Tangaraju maintained that he was not the one communicating with others involved within the case.
At a UN human rights briefing on Tuesday, spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani urged the Singaporean government to adopt a “formal moratorium” on executions for drug-related crimes.
“Imposing the death penalty for drug offenses is against international norms and standards,” said Shamdasani, who added that mounting evidence shows that the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent.
Singaporean authorities say there’s a deterrent effect, citing studies that show traffickers carrying amounts below the edge for the death penalty.
The imposition of the death penalty for drugs by this island state contrasts with its neighbors.
In Thailand, marijuana has been legalized in principle, and Malaysia has abolished the mandatory death penalty for serious crimes.
Singapore executed 11 people for drug offenses last 12 months.
One case that attracted international attention involved a Malaysian man whose lawyers said he was mentally retarded.
Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network condemned Tangaraju’s execution as “reprehensible”.
“The continued use of the death penalty by the Singapore government is an act of flagrant disregard for international human rights norms and slanders the legitimacy of Singapore’s criminal justice system,” the statement read.
Relatives and activists sent letters to Singapore’s president, Halimah Yacob, asking for clemency. In a video released by the Transformative Justice Collective, Tangaraju’s niece and nephew appealed to the general public to deal with the federal government with concern over Tangaraju’s impending execution.
An application filed by Tangaraju on Monday for a stay of execution was dismissed on Tuesday with no hearing.
“Singapore claims to supply ‘due trial’ to death row inmates, but in point of fact fair trial violations in death penalty cases are the norm: defendants remain without legal representation within the face of imminent execution as lawyers handling such cases are intimidated and harassed.” said Maya Foa, director of the non-profit human rights organization Reprieve.
Critics say Singapore’s capital punishment mainly catches low-level mules and does little to stop drug traffickers and arranged syndicates.
However the Singaporean government says all those executed have been given a full trial under the law and that the death penalty is mandatory to guard residents.
British billionaire Richard Branson, who openly opposes the death penalty, also called for a stay of execution in a blog post, saying that “Singapore can kill an innocent man.”
The Singaporean authorities criticized Branson’s allegations, stating that he showed disrespect for Singapore’s judicial system because the evidence showed that Tangaraju was guilty.