London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Singapore executes two drug traffickers despite pleas for clemency

Singapore executes two drug traffickers despite pleas for clemency

Singapore on Thursday executed two men for drug trafficking, ignoring pleas for mercy from human rights campaigners who fear "a new wave" of hangings in the Asian city state notorious for its strict drugs laws.
Singaporean Norasharee bin Gous, 48, and Malaysian national Kalwant Singh, 31, had their capital sentences carried out on Thursday at Changi Prison Complex, the Singapore Prison Service told CNN in an email.

Their executions come just two months after Singapore controversially hanged a man with intellectual disabilities for drug trafficking and bring the total number of death sentences carried out by the country this year to four.

In a statement Tuesday, Singapore authorities said Norasharee and Singh -- both convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to the mandatory death penalty -- had exhausted their legal appeals.

Both men had been on death row for the past six years while numerous campaigners called for clemency. The two executions "appear to be part of a new wave" of hangings in Singapore, Amnesty International Malaysia said in a statement earlier this week.

According to the Central Narcotics Bureau, both men were sentenced to death in June 2016. Singh had been found guilty of possessing 60.15 grams (2.1 ounces) of heroin and trafficking in 120.9 grams of the drug, while Norasharee was convicted of soliciting a man to traffic 120.9 grams of heroin.

In Singapore, trafficking a certain amount of drugs -- for example, 15 grams (0.5 ounces) of heroin -- results in a mandatory death sentence under the Misuse of Drugs Act, though the law was recently amended to allow for a convicted person to escape the death penalty in certain circumstances.

In April, Singapore executed Malaysian citizen Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, 34, in a case that sparked international outcry following psychologists' assessment he was intellectually disabled with an IQ of 69.

Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for trafficking 42.7 grams (1.5 ounces) of heroin then convicted and sentenced to death in 2010.

Singapore's courts rejected multiple appeals to overturn Dharmalingan's execution, in which his lawyers argued he should not have been sentenced to death because he was incapable of understanding his actions.

The case put the city-state's zero-tolerance drug laws back under scrutiny, with human rights advocates arguing the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking is an inhumane punishment.

Amnesty International's deputy regional director for research Emerlynne Gil on Thursday urged Singapore to immediately impose a moratorium on executions. "Singapore has once again executed people convicted of drug-related offenses in violation of international law, callously disregarding public outcry," Gill said.

Campaigners say tough drug laws in many Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, have done little to stop the region's multibillion-dollar illicit drug trade.

"The government of Singapore's persistence in maintaining and utilising the death penalty has only led to global condemnation and tarnishes Singapore's image as a developed nation governed by the rule of law," the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network said in a statement on June 30.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×