Tangaraju Suppiah was hanged in defiance of a request by the United Nations Human Rights Office for Singapore to “urgently reconsider” and calls by British tycoon Richard Branson to arrest him. Singapore hanged a prisoner today after he was found guilty of conspiring to smuggle two pounds of cannabis, despite rights groups denouncing “many flaws” in the case.
The Asian financial hub has some of the strictest drug laws in the world and insists that the death penalty remains an effective deterrent against trafficking. Singaporean Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, served his death sentence today at Changi Prison Complex,’ a Singapore Prison Service spokesman said.
Tangaraju was convicted in 2017 of “inciting to participate in a conspiracy to traffic” 2.24 pounds of cannabis, twice the minimum volume required for a death sentence in Singapore, the spokesman said. He was sentenced to death in 2018 and the Court of Appeals later upheld the decision, but rights groups have claimed there were various problems with the case.
Tangaraju Suppiah was Convicted in 2017 of trafficking 2.24 pounds of cannabis
Human Rights Watch Asia deputy director Phil Robertson said the evidence “was far from clear, as he never actually touched the marijuana in question, was questioned by police without a lawyer, and was denied access to a Tamil interpreter when requested”.
He added that the hanging “raises serious concerns that Singapore is launching a renewed wave to empty its death row in a misguided effort at deterrence.”
Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director Ming Yu Hah said there were “many flaws” in the case and that the hanging showed “the astonishing failure of Singapore’s stubborn acceptance of the death penalty.”
The Singaporean authorities have maintained that Tangaraju was given due process and that his guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The Home Office said, “Evidence clearly showed that he was the person coordinating the delivery of drugs, for trafficking purposes.”
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Branson, a member of the Geneva-based Global Commission on Drug Policy, wrote on his blog Monday that Tangaraju was “not around” drugs at the time of his arrest and that Singapore may be about to execute a man. innocent.
On Tuesday, the ministry criticized Branson, saying the billionaire showed “disrespect for Singaporean judges and our criminal justice system with such allegations.” In some parts of the world, including neighboring Thailand, cannabis has been decriminalized and authorities have abandoned prison sentences.
Rights groups have been pressing Singapore to abolish capital punishment, and the United Nations has said the practice has not proven to be an effective deterrent globally and is inconsistent with international human rights law.
Singapore resumed executions in March 2022 after a hiatus of more than two years. Wednesday’s hanging was the city-state’s first in six months and it’s 12th since last year. Among those hanged was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a worldwide outcry, including from the United Nations and Branson, because he was deemed mentally disabled.
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