Singapore executed a 39-year-old man convicted of heroin trafficking on Thursday, the city-state’s fifth hanging this year and the third in less than a week.
In 2019, Mohamed Shalleh Adul Latiff was sentenced to death for carrying around 55 grams of heroin for the purpose of trafficking.
His sentence was carried out on Thursday, according to a statement from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).
Prior to his arrest in 2016, Mohamed Shalleh worked as a delivery driver, according to court documents. During his trial, he stated he thought he was delivering illegal smokes for a friend who owed him money.
He was the 16th prisoner executed since the government restarted executions in March 2022, following a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The execution comes less than a week after Singapore executed the first woman for drug trafficking in nearly 20 years, despite widespread outcry from human rights organizations.
Saridewi Binte Djamani, a Singaporean 45, was executed on Friday for trafficking approximately 30 grams of heroin.
Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, 57, was hung two days earlier for trafficking approximately 50 grams of heroin.
The United Nations condemned the hangings last week and urged Singapore to establish a moratorium on the death sentence.
Despite mounting international pressure, Singapore maintains that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to drug trafficking.
The rich financial metropolis has some of the world’s strictest anti-drug laws, with trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or 15 grams of heroin punishable by death.
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