A 46-year-old Singaporean man was executed on 16 April 2026 after being convicted of importing more than 1kg of cannabis into Singapore.
In a statement released the same day, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said that Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj had been found guilty of bringing in not less than 1,009.1g of cannabis.
The amount exceeds the 500g threshold under the Misuse of Drugs Act, above which the death penalty may be imposed.
Omar entered Singapore from Malaysia via Woodlands Checkpoint by car on 12 July 2018.
Source: Motorist.sg, for illustration purposes only
During a routine check, an auxiliary police officer found a bag belonging to him containing three bundles wrapped in aluminium foil, cling wrap, and newspaper.
The bundles were sent to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for analysis and were found to contain not less than 1,009.1g of cannabis.
According to CNB, this amount was sufficient to feed the addiction of about 144 abusers for a week.
At trial, Omar’s defence was that he did not know the nature of the bundles found in the car.
He also claimed that officers had threatened him into admitting ownership.
One officer allegedly said he would slap him, while another allegedly warned he would throw a pen at him and hang both him and his father if he refused to cooperate.
However, the High Court found material inconsistencies in his testimony and deemed his account unreliable.
In contrast, officers present during the recording of his statements gave corroborative accounts, which were supported by CCTV footage.
The High Court found that Omar knew the nature of the bundles and had intentionally brought them into Singapore, and convicted him under Section 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
He was sentenced to death, with his conviction and sentence later upheld by the Court of Appeal on 12 October 2021.
Following the dismissal of his appeal, Omar filed four post-appeal applications, all of which were dismissed or resolved.
On 9 April 2026, about a week before his scheduled execution, he filed a further application seeking permission to reopen his appeal.
In the application, he again raised the allegation that an officer had threatened to slap him.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the application, stating that the allegation had already been fully examined during earlier proceedings and that no new or sufficient material had been presented.
Earlier, on 2 April 2026, his family had been notified by the Singapore Prison Service that his execution was scheduled.
His wife later wrote to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to appeal for clemency, but the petition was unsuccessful.
Omar is survived by his wife and two children. His family had been living in Germany prior to his arrest.
Source: Human Rights Watch
CNB reiterated that capital punishment in Singapore is imposed only for the most serious crimes, including the importation or trafficking of significant quantities of drugs.
Such offences, it said, cause serious harm not only to drug abusers, but also to their families and the wider society.
Also read: 48-year-old S’porean executed for drug trafficking on 4 Oct, presidential clemency not granted
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Featured image adapted from Human Rights Watch and by MS News.