Singapore hangs first woman for drug trafficking in 19 years: Report

livemint.com:

drug trafficking despite calls for the city-state to cease capital punishment for drug-related crimes. Activists said another execution is set for next week, according to a report published by The Associated Press. The Central Narcotics Bureau said that Saridewi Djamani, 45, had been sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking nearly 31 grams (1.09 ounces) of diamorphine, or pure heroin.

It added that the amount was “sufficient to feed the addiction of about 370 abusers for a week." Singapore's laws mandate the death penalty for anyone convicted of trafficking more than 500 grams (17.64 ounces) of cannabis and 15 grams (0.53 ounces) of heroin. Djamani's execution came two days after that of a Singaporean man, Mohammed Aziz Hussain, 56, for trafficking around 50 grams (1.75 ounces) of heroin, AP reported. The narcotics bureau said that both prisoners were accorded due process, including appeals of their conviction and sentence and petition for presidential clemency.

However, human rights groups, international activists, and the United Nations have requested Singapore to halt executions for drug offenses, saying that there is increasing evidence it is ineffective as a deterrent. Human rights groups say it has executed 15 people for drug offenses since it resumed hangings in March 2022, an average of one a month. “Last woman known to have been hanged in Singapore was 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen, also for drug trafficking, in 2004," said anti-death penalty activists.