Singapore put a convicted drug trafficker to death Wednesday after the city-state defended its hard-line approach to narcotics offenses from international critics.
Tangaraju Suppiah, a 46-year-old native of Singapore, was hanged in Changi Prison, the Singapore Prison Service said in a statement to CNN. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2018 for attempting to traffic over 2 pounds of cannabis.
Suppiah appealed the verdict in 2019, but it was upheld by the courts. Attempts to seek presidential clemency were also unsuccessful.
Suppiah was the first prisoner executed in Singapore this year. The nation hanged 11 prisoners in 2022, all of whom were convicted on drug charges, according to Statista.
The execution garnered international attention from human rights groups and celebrities.
Amnesty International said in a statement last week that the evidence used to secure Suppiah’s conviction stood on weak grounds.
“Tangaraju’s conviction relied mainly on statements from his police interrogation — taken without a lawyer and interpreter present — and the testimony of his two co-accused, one of which had his charges dismissed,” Amnesty International wrote.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani expressed similar concerns about Suppiah’s trial. In a Tuesday press release, she urged Singapore to reconsider the execution in order to “fully respect the most fundamental of human rights — the right to life.”
British billionaire Richard Branson also spoke out against the evidence used to convict Suppiah. In a Sunday blog post, he said the prosecution didn’t meet the standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Further, Mr. Branson took aim at Singapore’s use of capital punishment more broadly by arguing that it doesn’t have the intended deterrent effect.
“From the vantage point of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, of which I am a member, Tangaraju’s execution will not make Singapore any safer than it already is, and it will do absolutely nothing to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the city state,” the Virgin Group founder wrote.
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs shot back at Mr. Branson on Tuesday, saying that Suppiah’s guilt was proved in court and that the billionaire has ignored statistics about the death penalty’s deterrent effect, according to Channel News Asia.
The MHA said that includes a 15%-19% reduction in people willing to break the law four years after the policy was implemented.
“Singapore’s policies on drugs and the death penalty are derived from our own experience,” the ministry wrote. “Our approach has worked for us, and we will continue charting our own path according to what is in the best interests of Singaporeans.”
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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