In a rare event, Singapore carried out the execution of a woman for the first time in nearly two decades on Friday. This marked the second execution by hanging in the same week, both for convicted drug traffickers. Saridewi Djamani, a 45-year-old woman, was handed the death sentence in 2018 after she was found guilty of trafficking almost 31 grams of pure heroin. The Central Narcotics Bureau stated that the quantity of the drug was enough to sustain the addiction of approximately 370 users for a week.
Despite the outcry from activists to abolish the death penalty for drug-related offenses, Singapore’s law mandates capital punishment for anyone convicted of trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or 15 grams of heroin. Earlier in the week, Mohammed Aziz Hussain, 56, was also executed by hanging for trafficking about 50 grams of heroin. Another drug trafficker is slated for execution in the coming week.
The Central Narcotics Bureau confirmed that both Djamani and Hussain were given due process, which included appeals of their conviction and sentence, and a petition for clemency. The last recorded execution of a woman in Singapore was in 2004 when a 36-year-old hairdresser, Yen May Woen, was executed for drug trafficking.
Human rights groups, international activists, and the United Nations have repeatedly urged Singapore to abolish executions for drug offenses. They argue that evidence shows that capital punishment does not deter illegal drug activity. However, Singapore authorities maintain that death sentences play a crucial role in curbing drug demand and supply.
The next execution, scheduled for August 3, involves a former delivery driver who was convicted in 2019 for trafficking around 50 grams of heroin. The man claimed during his trial that he believed he was delivering contraband cigarettes for a friend he owed money to. Despite being deemed a courier by the court, he was sentenced to death under Singapore’s stringent laws. If the execution proceeds as planned, it will be the fifth execution in Singapore this year.
Human rights groups have reported that since the resumption of hangings in March 2022, 15 people have been executed in Singapore for drug offenses, averaging one execution per month.