A 45-year-old Singapore woman was executed on Friday after being sentenced to death on drug trafficking charges in 2018.
Despite protests from human rights organizations, Saridewi Djamani became the city-state’s first woman to be put to death in nearly 20 years. Her execution is the second in Singapore this week. Two days before Djamani’s execution, Singaporean Mohammed Aziz Hussain, 56, was put to death for trafficking about 50 grams (1.7 ounces) of heroin.
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According to the Central Narcotics Bureau, she was given a death sentence in 2018 for trafficking roughly 31 grams (1 ounce) of diamorphine, also known as pure heroin. The amount was described as being “enough to feed the substance abuse habit of approximately 370 users for a week.”
The law in the country stipulates that the death sentence may be imposed on anyone found guilty of trafficking more than 15 grams (0.53 ounces) of heroin and more than 500 grams (17.64 ounces) of cannabis. Human rights organizations and activists have condemned the recent executions of convicts with drug-related charges in Singapore. Singaporean authorities, however, maintain that the death penalty is crucial for reducing drug supply and demand.
According to human rights organizations, the nation has killed 15 people for drug crimes since it started hangings in March 2022, or one person on average every month. Another Singapore national, Tangaraju Suppiah, was put to death in April of this year for smuggling a kilogram (35 ounces) of cannabis that he never touched. Authorities claimed that Tangaraju used his phone to coordinate the deal.
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A new execution notice has been given for another prisoner for August 3, according to the Singapore-based Transformative Justice Collective, which campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty. This will be the sixth execution this year alone.
