Singapore is infamous for its steadfast stance on drugs. With the country’s strict laws, it’s hard to escape punishment when it comes to drug-related crimes.
A Malaysian man is the latest to face the music when he received the death penalty on Friday (4 Feb).
His crime — delivering a bag containing more than 900g of a powdery substance, which later turned out to contain heroin.
His recipient, a 61-year-old Singaporean man, meanwhile faces life imprisonment for drug trafficking and possession.
According to The Straits Times (ST), the Malaysian man, Kishor Kumar Raguan, had brought the bag containing the drugs into Singapore in 2016.
He was tasked to deliver the drugs to Pung Ah Kiang, the Singaporean man in question, near the latter’s residence in Paya Lebar.
As he was walking back home, he was arrested by Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers, who escorted him back. Once there, officers found even more drugs.
They later also detected Kishor’s DNA on the drug bundle delivery. ST reported that Kishor had to collect $6,000 from Pung upon delivery.
Claiming no knowledge of the exact contents of the bag, Kishor said in his defence that he thought he had to deliver rocks or decorative stones for $160 (RM500), noted ST.
Even after unwrapping the bundle, he allegedly could not recognise the brown objects inside. He also claimed that he didn’t know what was in the envelope that Pung handed to him in return.
However, the prosecution later argued that Kishor knew he was delivering heroin and had to get money from Pung.
They also highlighted that Kishor had acted as a middleman for drug transactions before.
Pung, meanwhile, claimed that his brother-in-law had asked to store the delivery in his home. The items would then be passed to the latter’s friends at a later time.
Hoping to keep the harmony in the home, he agreed to help facilitate deliveries from 2014 up till his arrest in 2016.
Some of the items he received reportedly included dog food, cat food, biscuits, and Chinese medicine.
As the prosecution was not able to provide a certificate of substantive assistance to Kishor, the high court decided to pass the mandatory death sentence on him.
Pung, on the other hand, faces life imprisonment as he was able to assist CNB in disrupting drug trafficking activities.
Even if their statements claimed ignorance of the dealings, the evidence eventually painted a different picture.
At the end of the day, both individuals faced the rightful consequences for their crimes.
Let’s hope this incident serves as a deterrence for potential criminals.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image by MS News.
Earlier this year, three managers were found to have made manual updates on a customer’s…
On the other hand, some said they'd prefer sitting next to a massive dog than…
Some sustained injuries after jumping from windows, while others starved to death.
A record of more than 553,000 travellers crossed both checkpoints on 13 Dec.
There has been no year-end Covid-19 wave, as had been expected.
The beef was imported without a veterinary health certificate and halal certification.