SINGAPORE has executed a man convicted of drug trafficking, despite pleas for clemency from his family and activists.
Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was convicted for abetting the trafficking of more than 1 kg of cannabis in 2013, double the threshold for the death penalty in Singapore, which has tough laws on narcotics.
The government did not respond to requests for comment.
British billionaire Richard Branson criticized the verdict, stating that Suppiah was not near the drugs when he was arrested.
The government responded by calling Branson’s claim “patently untrue” and said its courts had spent more than 3 years examining the case.
The United Nations Office for human rights had called for Singapore to adopt a formal moratorium on executions for drug-related offenses.
It can be noted that Singapore executed 11 people last year and maintains that the death penalty is an effective deterrent against drugs and that most of its people support the policy.
