Singapore Executes More Drug Offenders, Including First Woman Hanged in 19 Years
TimeAug 02, 2023
The Facts
According to authorities, Singapore hanged Saridewi Djamani on Friday in what was the country's first execution of a woman in nearly 20 years.
Djamani — found guilty of trafficking heroin in 2018 — was one of two women on death row in Singapore. The last woman to be put to death was Yen May Woen in 2004 on drug-related charges, according to the human rights group Transformative Justice Collective.
The Spin
Narrative A
Singapore's zero-tolerance stance and strict narcotics laws have allowed the country to remain safe, secure, and relatively drug-free — which shows that capital punishment does work to deter drug traffickers. The death penalty is essential to Singapore's criminal justice system, and since it is an effective deterrent against drug-related crimes, the public widely supports it.
Narrative B
Those on death row in Singapore are often from the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in the city-state, and executing these people just goes to show that the Singaporean state views them just as disposable as their drug kingpins do. There's no evidence that the death penalty is a deterrent for drug-related crimes or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs. Singapore needs to repeal the death penalty.