The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© 2023 AFPSingapore hangs prisoner over cannabis trafficking
SINGAPORE©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© 2023 AFP
64 Comments
Login to comment
2020hindsights
Barbaric.
raincloud
Talk about archaic. Singapore claims to be a first-world country. But this....
TokyoLiving
This is what US and the rest of the world need to finish drug traffic problem..
"Dura lex, sed lex"..
Mat
If the death penalty worked, counties that use it would have NO CRIME.
Sven Asai
Simple math there. They are famous for being more than harsh and strict on everything, from hearsay they already fine or arrest you for only throwing away garbage, chewing gum, cigarette rests. It’s not relevant if that’s true, but it’s important that you don’t challenge even such little rumors and simply consider Singapore a really nice peaceful multicultural country, but also being a restricted no-go zone for you beforehand, if you think you can’t fully abide or maybe become somehow very unlucky by only smallest incidents alone. So you can now estimate or calculate a projection on a linear curve or x,y-graph what will happen to you with more than a kilo of illegal drugs in your possession. The result can’t and won’t be gratitude or an expensive present. No, chances are high for a death sentence like in this case. And you can know that beforehand at only junior high school math level, hopefully something you have when going there for a very thrilling challenge.
TaiwanIsNotChina
No it's not. We're not in the 13th century here. Well, some us aren't anyways.
Zizi
Utter savages
wallace
Barbaric to end a man's life over 1 kg of cannabis which comes from a plant growing out of the earth.
Algernon LaCroix
This is terrible. A man is executed for a kilo of dope, while warmongers, banksters, and other tyrants and the like around the world destroy nations and get away with it scot-free.
Geeter Mckluskie
And directly thereafter the judge and jury went home and relaxed with a glass of wine
kohakuebisu
I bet there are plenty of influential people in Singapore who use cocaine and other drugs.
In the UK, there is plenty of evidence of drug use inside the Houses of Parliament. More often than not though, its poor people who get caught and sentenced, not powerful people.
RIP
jforce
Barbaric country ... they'd do the same if it was chewing gum.
Algernon LaCroix
Singapore hasn't had a jury system since 1969.
Geeter Mckluskie
Algernon LaCroix...OK, but I'm sure you got the point
Sh1mon M4sada
He wasn’t even caught with drugs, his phone incriminated him as just one of 3 parties coordinating. Worse still he didn't have legal representation nor an interpreter.
It's obvious, the policy doesn't work, because Singapore is having to execute more and more.
Can't argue with a dictatorial family devoid of humanity.
quercetum
Drug dealers should be punished. I hope more and more of them will hang. If not, Singapore will end up like the US.
UChosePoorly
Barbaric
UChosePoorly
(but it's their country and their laws. Don't like it, don't visit Singapore)
wallace
Hanging a man for drugs which does not kill. No one died. Singapore needs to abolish the death penalty for cannabis.
Sh1mon M4sada
I wouldn't by choice, even when I was working there, it never felt like a 'real' metropolis, and it's boring, all the food is salty (unless you pay through the nose to go to a western restaurant), my only form of entertainment was to head over to Malaysia and ride at the Sepang track.
Now, to say it's their country would be a lie, because it's run like a Lee family fiefdom. I wouldn't even say it's a country because all the leaders worship at the foot of Mao, longing for the day when they can legitimately call Singapore a true dictatorial state.
UChosePoorly
If the people put up with it and that's how they want to live, then more power to them. Countries develop at their own rate and in their own ways.
Nihon Tora
Disneyland with the death penalty.
I remember my first visit there, sitting outside at a bar on the boat quay. I'd just put my beer down on the table and the waitress came over, picked up my beer and placed it on a beer mat - she fired my the most disgusted look as she did so.
No counterculture, no bohemianism, no underground, no creativity, just bland consumerism, a completely U-rated experience - everybody just goes to work and spends their money on the latest products like mindless automatons, never straying from the path that the authorities programmed them to follow because if they do, they might receive a disgusted stare, or they might just end up executed like this poor fella.
Clay
Thanks for sharing, guess for most there it's dynamic multi-cultural, talent magnet, biz and tax friendly and focused on global markets given it's just a city-state.
That's my SG take. You struggled with your unwanted influence agenda? Not surprising, human nature.
Best steer of Moscow as well, people in Tokyo will at least nod in approval, though you're not making any real inroads. It's all same in reality, just style differences!
If you solve others' PROBLEMS, then they'll likely listen, so give it try!
Clay
Thanks for sharing, guess for most there it's dynamic multi-cultural, talent magnet, biz and tax friendly and focused on global markets given it's just a city-state.
That's my SG take. You struggled with your unwanted influence agenda? Not surprising, human nature.
Best steer of Moscow as well, people in Tokyo will at least nod in approval, though you're not making any real inroads. It's all same in reality, just style differences!
If you solve others' PROBLEMS, then they'll likely listen, so give it try!
Moonraker
Well, what can they do if they don't wanna live that way and develop like that? It's a one-party state, there are no public demonstrations allowed, politicians can sue for personal criticism, the press is controlled, the judiciary is not independent and government intrusion enters into all aspects of life.
Clay
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time, don't do it!
itsonlyrocknroll
An appalling act of execution by the state for a crime that warrants a sentence that reflects an opportunity of rehabilitation.
This act mandates state sanctioned homicide.
Mr Kipling
I can guarantee that he will not
Mr Kipling
Commit this crime again!
UChosePoorly
Moonraker - oh yeah, I'm not simping for Singapore. The people can move out if they want and they can vacation elsewhere to see what life is like in other places. Those that really want to move out, will. Otherwise, they can live in their clean repressive country.
Clay
Not my cup either but anyone there needs to RESPECT their laws. That's the social contract, applies globally, whether in Russia, Japan or anywhere.
Also applies to other institutions within their society, don't go breaking the social contract or you'll pay.
Outsiders or locals breaking laws and disrupting society, SG authorities sending CRYSTAL clear message.
SG's been DARN successful, seems many approve, especially multi-nationals so busy investing there.
japancat
Cannabis turned out to be deadly for this man.
Ah_so
No real democracy or culture in this boring one party state, but you can make money to buy shiny things.
Sh1mon M4sada
Exactly, justice system in a modern country balances rehab with retribution. There's no balance at all here, all retribution.
To be accused of supporting genocide by the victim 'Cambodia' is very damming, though going by this case, very justified.
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2019/06/06/astounding-insensitivity-and-troubling-response-of-the-singapore-govt-on-comment-regarding-vietnam-invasion-of-cambodia/
The elder Lee supported Pol Pot, so it seems killing people runs in the family.
UChosePoorly
Willie Nelson not gonna include SG in his next world tour, that's for sure.
Paustovsky
Singapore, Dubai, Las Vegas and Grozny.
Four places I will never go. Devoid of culture yet brimming with sex-trafficked girls from poverty-ridden villages.
kyushubill
It is well known what the penalty in Singapore is. Play around there and find out.
Mocheake
Singapore does not mess around. While I do think losing your life is a bit much, it sure sends a clear message. The U.S. could use a more no- nonsense approach to crime.
Mark
Hard to accept nor to believe that we are still hanging our citizens for DRUGS,
I also believe that drugs are killing our kids, and some nations decided enough is enough.
EvilBuddha
Myanmar’s military junta has long kept its illicit wealth from illegal activities in the tax haven of Singapore.
In what world would this poor man's actions of smuggling weed be considered far worse than what the Tatmadaw is currently doing in Myanmar?
But the house that Harry built (Harry was the English name of LKY) runs on slightly different standards.
EvilBuddha
dynamic multi-cultural, talent magnet, biz and tax friendly
Multi-cultural out of compulsion, not out of choice. If it were up to LKY, he would have preferred driving out the ethnic minorities (Malays and Indians) from SG, considering his views on the racial superiority of the Chinese.
But since the Chinese (Peranakans actually) were the actual immigrants to a land which originally belonged to the Malays with substantial Indian influence (the name of the country itself is of Indian origin), he did not go down that road.
Talent magnet again out of compulsion. Considering that their birth rate is lower than that of Japan, they have no choice but to accept foreigners to both do the jobs that locals don't want to do and the jobs that they are not skilled to do. Cribbing about the influx of FTs is now the favorite pasttime of the locals.
Tax friendly, so much so that they accept illicit wealth from Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India and all the other corruption ridden countries in the region.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Nope still barbaric. If he were kept in prison he might have been found innocent of holding a bag of leaves. Now there is no way that a mistake can be rectified.
itsonlyrocknroll
Sh1mon M4sada,
I am stunned how a judicial system refuses to even accept the possibility of rehabilitation within a principle adjudications and conciliations!
To then justify condemn a human life to capital punishment is an act of ideological extremism.
There is no justification to end a life in this manner.
wallace
All capital punishment is barbaric.
Clay
No absolute freedom, just degrees that vary by jurisdiction. Media is monitored and manipulated everywhere so idea of perfect free press, human rights, property rights, free markets, etc. all an illusion.
Ukraine intel leaks make it clear just how dishonesty is the new normal, scary as its US Govt. based, so people across world tire of this 'holier than thou' US behavior.
You think little SG has any interest in allowing giant foreign media companies controlled by those with their agendas to do as they please. Applies to all countries.
All countries regulate outside influencers, again it varies by jurisdiction. World gets itself in BIG trouble when the above social contract becomes disrupted and in digital age, risks are rising fast.
It's no wonder world's becoming multi-polar, far safer in terms of risk mgmt., too many destabilizing cockroaches interfering in affairs of other countries, LIKE Singapore.
Others will be following their deterrence model and using Chinese tech to enforce it. Wonderful!
MilesTeg
And the US' war against drugs worked out real well.......jailing both users and dealers simply doesn't work. There's years of data that show that it doesn't. You have to address both the supply & demand sides and treat users as having an addiction, a mental health issue, rather than treating users as criminals and putting them in prison where they can get the best criminal education that tax payers can afford. Simply decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana has done more than the war on drugs has done in decades.
Clay
Translation? Stay in your lane, leave your STUFF at your home!
Mocheake
I remember when the American kid got flogged for graffiti back in the '90s. I bet that deterred his rear from doing it again. I really like Singapore's approach. When I flog the s out of you, that will definitely deter YOU! America is way too soft on crime. Three square meals and cable TV for a murderer? Give them some lashes and a cold cell for a few years.
CPTOMO
It's their country, their laws.
Mr Kipling
Maybe, just maybe he was the only Singaporean that DIDN'T know Singapore had the death penalty?
Or more likely, he thought he would get away with it. Well, he knows now.
What is the profit on a kilo of hash? He obviously didn't value his life very highly. Why should we?
Blitzwing
@Mr Kipling
Cannabis =/= Hash
englisc aspyrgend
State murderers.
OssanAmerica
Pretty damn harsh for smuggling just 1kg of pot. But it's their country and their laws. And the accused must have been fully aware of the risks.
theFu
Singapore has some laws that seem odd to me. Before traveling there, I always review them to ensure I don't accidentally do something illegal.
I'm not against the death penalty. For some crimes, society has decided that rehabilitation isn't possible and death is the answer. I wouldn't do it for marijuana, but I would do it for harder drugs and for heinous killings/murders.
There are many things to like about Singapore and a few things to dislike. Their history brought them to this point. Because they are a democracy, I'm less inclined to tell them what laws should and shouldn't be done. SingTel is a spy agency, so anyone using a cell phone in Singapore should know better.
And don't walk on the grass.
quercetum
I don’t even care if it is barbaric. Deal drugs death penalty. Works.
kaimycahl
The guy was arrested and executed for being caught with dried out plants. I have never heard of anyone dying from cannabis but I have read many instances where people died from alcohol relate deaths.
Mr Kipling
Exactly, his level of risk to reward was exceedingly low. A real idiot.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Actually, no he doesn't because barbarians put an end to him before he could live a responsible life.
Fighto!
While it does seem harsh, as the famous saying goes "Their country, their rules".
This man should have known he was facing: dealing marijuana in Singapore is considered more heinous than killing someone. All recent executions there have been drug dealers.
If one wants to indulge in cannabis, go to Thailand where it is legal and safe. Avoid Singapore.