Execution of a convicted drug trafficker - 2 August 2024

1. The capital sentence of death imposed on a 45-year-old Singaporean was carried out on 2 August 2024.

2. He was convicted of having in his possession for the purpose of trafficking, four packets of granular substances that were analysed and found to contain not less than 36.93 grammes of diamorphine, or pure heroin. The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine trafficked is more than 15 grammes. 36.93 grammes of diamorphine is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 440 abusers for a week.

3. He was accorded full due process under the law, and was represented by legal counsel throughout the process:

a. He was convicted and sentenced to capital punishment on 15 February 2019.

b. He appealed against his conviction and sentence, and the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal on 25 November 2019.

4. His petition to the President for clemency was unsuccessful.

5. Capital punishment is imposed only for the most serious crimes, such as the trafficking of significant quantities of drugs which cause very serious harm, not just to individual drug abusers, but also to their families and the wider society.

Central Narcotics Bureau

2 August 2024