Singapore Hangs 36-Year-Old For Trafficking 1.6kg Cannabis
A Singaporean man was executed by the state on Wednesday (17 May) after he was convicted of trafficking cannabis.
The 36-year-old was unsuccessful in his attempts at appealing his case and petitioning the President for clemency.
His execution comes after Tangaraju s/o Suppiah’s case last month, making him the second death row inmate to be executed this year.
Singaporean given death penalty for trafficking cannabis
On 17 May, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) announced that they had executed an anonymous 36-year-old Singaporean man earlier that day.
Apart from receiving “full due process under the law”, CNB said that he also had access to legal counsel throughout the whole process.
Despite his petition to the President for clemency, it was unsuccessful in halting his execution.
The 36-year-old was reportedly placed on death row after he was convicted of trafficking controlled drugs into Singapore.
Found guilty of trafficking cannabis in 2016
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that the inmate, Muhammad Faizal Mohd Shariff, was arrested in February 2016.
At the time, he had been in possession of 3.5kg of “vegetable matter” — of which 1.6kg was cannabis.
According to CNA, he had collected four blocks of cannabis and portioned them to be redistributed.
Source: CNB Drug Free SG on Facebook. Image for illustration purposes only.
Although he maintained that the cannabis was for his personal consumption, Mr Faizal testified that he hadn’t smoked the drug before.
Additionally, he said that he had intended to sell only a small portion.
He was given the mandatory death penalty in January 2019 after he reportedly admitted in a statement that the cannabis was for sale.
High Court dismissed appeal against sentence
Mr Faizal subsequently filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision but it was dismissed in August 2019.
Last Wednesday (10 May), the Singapore Prison Service reportedly informed Mr Faizal’s family of the execution date.
One day later, Mr Faizal filed another appeal against the sentence, seeking to reduce his sentence to life imprisonment.
CNA reported that Mr Faizal’s counsel argued that they had discovered more evidence, on top of there being a change in the law.
In a Facebook post, local activist Kokila Annamalai shared details claiming that Mr Faizal was connected to a “much smaller amount of cannabis” based on DNA evidence and fingerprints.
However, the court dismissed his latest appeal on the grounds that he had “failed to raise sufficient material”.
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Featured image adapted from The Week. For illustration purposes only.Â
