Singapore executed a woman for the first time in 19 years Friday for trafficking 31 grams of heroin — and her death was the nation’s second drug-related hanging this week.
Saridewi Djamani, 45, was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking enough of the narcotic to fuel the addiction of “about 370 abusers,” the Central Narcotics Bureau of Singapore said.
Anyone in Singapore caught with more than 15 grams of heroin is automatically given the death penalty, the bureau said.
Djamani was found with six packets and seven straws of pure heroin in 2018, CNB said.
She became the first woman to be executed in the country since 2004. Her death came two days after 56-year-old Mohammed Aziz Hussain was hanged after his 2018 conviction for trafficking roughly 50 grams of heroin.
Anti-death penalty activists, who said another execution is slated for next week, fought Djamani’s hanging, saying capital punishment does not deter crime.
However, CNB said her penalty was “accorded full due process under the law, and was represented by legal counsel throughout the process.”
Djamani had appealed her conviction, but it was dismissed in October. Her clemency plea was also denied, according to CNB.
Djamani and Hussain’s executions came three months after Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was executed for trafficking 2.2 pounds of cannabis.
He had not been caught with the drug, but phone numbers traced back to him showed he was responsible for coordinating the pot delivery.
At a United Nations Human Rights briefing in April, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani called on the Singapore government to adopt a “formal moratorium” on executions for drug-related offenses.
“Imposing the death penalty for drug offenses is incompatible with international norms and standards,” said Shamdasani, who added that increasing evidence shows the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent.
Singapore authorities say there is a deterrent effect, citing studies that traffickers carry amounts below the threshold that would bring a death penalty.
Singapore executed 11 people last year for drug offenses.
SOURCE: New york post
