Singapore Executes Woman for Drug Trafficking in Almost Two Decades
Singapore confirmed on Friday that it has executed a woman for the first time in almost 20 years. Saridewi Djamani, a Singaporean national, was found guilty of trafficking 30g (1.06oz) of heroin in 2018. Her execution comes just days after another Singaporean, Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, was executed for drug trafficking, making him the second drug convict to be executed this week and the 15th since March 2022.
Singapore has some of the toughest anti-drug laws in the world, claiming that they are necessary to protect society. Under Singapore law, the death penalty is imposed for anyone caught trafficking more than 500g of cannabis or 15g of heroin.
The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) of Singapore stated that Saridewi was given “full due process” under the law. She was sentenced to death on July 6, 2018, and her appeal against her conviction was dismissed by the city’s highest court on October 6, 2021. A petition for presidential pardon was also unsuccessful.
Criticism has been directed towards Singapore’s use of the death penalty. British billionaire Sir Richard Branson criticized the country, stating that the death penalty is not a deterrent against crime. He added that small-scale drug traffickers often need help due to their circumstances.
Saridewi is one of two women on death row in Singapore, according to the Transformative Justice Collective, a human rights group based in Singapore. She is the first woman to be executed in the city-state since 2004 when hairdresser Yen May Woen was executed for drug trafficking as well.
During her trial, Saridewi testified that she was stocking up on heroin for personal use during the Islamic fasting month. However, she did not deny selling drugs from her flat but downplayed the scale of her activities, as noted by Judge See Kee Oon.
Authorities argue that strict drug laws help maintain Singapore as one of the safest places in the world, and the use of capital punishment for drug offenses enjoys broad public support. However, anti-death penalty advocates contest this, stating that there is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or impacts the use and availability of drugs.
Amnesty International noted that Singapore is one of only four countries, along with China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, to have recently carried out drug-related executions, defying international safeguards on the use of the death penalty.