Singapore Executes Woman for Drug Trafficking Despite Calls to Abolish Death Penalty for Drug-Related Crimes

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Singapore executed its first woman in 19 years on Friday for drug trafficking, despite calls for the city-state to cease capital punishment for drug-related crimes.

Saridewi Djamani, 45, was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking about 31 grams (1 ounce) of diamorphine, or pure heroin, the Central Narcotics Bureau said. According to Singapore’s laws, the death penalty is mandatory for anyone convicted of trafficking more than 500 grams (17.64 ounces) of cannabis and 15 grams (0.5 ounces) of heroin.

In October of last year, Singapore’s Court of Appeal dismissed Djamani’s appeal, finding that the amount of heroin she had trafficked was “sufficient to feed the addiction of about 370 abusers for a week.”

The execution of Djamani marks the second hanging this week for drug trafficking in Singapore. On Tuesday, a Malaysian man, Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, was executed for trafficking more than 200 grams (7 ounces) of diamorphine.

Despite the executions, human rights groups have continued to call for Singapore to abolish the death penalty for drug-related crimes. The United Nations has also urged Singapore to end capital punishment, citing that it is “the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.”