Singapore: The first woman in 20 years will be hanged

Two drug convicts, including a woman, will be hanged in Singapore this week.

Local human rights organization Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) identified the woman as Sridevi Djamani, who will be the first woman to be executed in Singapore in 20 years.

The TJC said the 56-year-old man, who was convicted of trafficking about 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin, will be hanged at Changi Prison in the Southeast Asian city on Wednesday.

Muhammad Aziz bin Hussain, who was sentenced to death for heroin trafficking in 2017, was hanged at Changi Jail, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

Hussain’s previous appeals against the sentence were dismissed and his request for a presidential pardon was rejected.

The 45-year-old female convict, Sridevi Djamani, will be hanged on Friday. He was sentenced to death in 2018 for smuggling around 30 grams of heroin.

If this is done, she will be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004, said TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

In 2004, 36-year-old hairdresser Yin Meiwen was executed for drug trafficking.

The TJC said both prisoners are Singaporean citizens and their families have received notices about their execution dates.

AFP sent questions to prison officials via email, which were not answered.

Singapore carries the death penalty for certain crimes, including murder and some types of kidnapping.

Singapore also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

After a two-year hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, the government resumed executions, and at least 13 people have been executed so far.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the executions.

“It is unacceptable that authorities in Singapore continue to carry out the death penalty in the name of drug control,” Amnesty International’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangeorgiou said in a statement.

‘There is no evidence that the death penalty has any effect on drug prevention, use and availability.’

“As countries around the world embrace abolition of the death penalty and drug policy reforms, Singaporean authorities are not,” he added.

Singapore insists that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.

Among those hanged last year was Naginthran’s Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked international outcry because he was considered mentally retarded.