According to a report by AFP, Singapore is preparing to carry out its first death penalty of a woman in almost two decades. The country is scheduled to hang two drug convicts this week, with rights groups calling for a halt to the executions.
Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), a local rights organization, revealed that a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams of heroin is set to be executed on Wednesday at Changi Prison. Following that, Saridewi Djamani, a 45-year-old woman, is slated to be hanged on Friday. She was sentenced to death penalty in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin. If the execution proceeds as planned, she would be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004, when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking.
Amnesty International, a rights watchdog, has called on Singapore to stop the impending executions, condemning the continued pursuit of death penalties in the name of drug control. They argue that there is no evidence to support the notion that the death penalty acts as a unique deterrent or has any impact on drug use and availability. While other countries move away from capital punishment and adopt drug policy reform, Singapore remains firm in its insistence on the death penalty as an effective crime deterrent.
TJC has revealed that the two prisoners facing execution are Singaporean, and their families have been informed of the scheduled dates.
Singapore maintains strict anti-drug laws, with the death penalty applicable for certain drug-related crimes, including trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin.
Since the government resumed executions after a two-year hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic, at least 13 people have been hanged in the country. The impending execution of the woman marks a significant event, drawing attention to the country’s approach to the death penalty and drug control.
