Image Source: AGENCIES

26-04-2023
WATSUPPTODAY DESK

Singapore on Wednesday executed a man sentenced for drug dealing, a delegate for his family said, regardless of supplications from his family members and activists for leniency. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, had been sentenced for abetting the dealing with 2013 of more than 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of weed, twofold the edge for capital punishment in the city-state, which is known for its extreme regulations on opiates Kokila Annamalai, a Singapore-based rights activist representing the family, confirmed Suppiah had been executed by hanging after the president had rejected pleas for clemency on the eve of the execution. The Singapore government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. British billionaire Richard Branson, a well known opponent of the death penalty, had said the verdict against Suppiah did not meet standards for criminal conviction as he was not near the drugs when he was arrested. The government in response said Branson was peddling falsehoods and disrespecting its justice system, adding that its courts spent more than three years examining the case and Branson's claim was "patently untrue". The United Nations Office for Human Rights had also called for Singapore not to proceed with the execution and to "adopt a formal moratorium on executions for drug-related offences". The death sentence is an effective drug deterrent, according to Singapore, which hanged 11 individuals last year. The majority of its citizens also favour the practise.