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Singapore to execute man over cannabis charge

Discussion in 'Marijuana News' started by Vee, Apr 25, 2023.

  1. [​IMG]
    Singapore is set to hang a man for trafficking cannabis, in the city-state's latest controversial execution.

    Activists say Tangaraju Suppiah was convicted on weak evidence. Authorities say he received due process, and have scheduled his execution for Wednesday.

    It follows a high-profile execution last year of an intellectually impaired man over a drugs charge.

    Singapore has some of the world's toughest anti-drug laws, which it says are necessary to protect society.

    In recent days his family members and activists delivered letters to Singapore's president Halimah Yacob in a last-minute plea for clemency, while British billionaire Sir Richard Branson has called for a halt of the execution and a review of the case.

    "I know that my brother has not done anything wrong. I urge the court to look at his case from the beginning," Tangaraju's sister, Leela Suppiah, told reporters at a news conference

    Tangaraju, 46, was convicted of "abetting by engaging in a conspiracy to traffic" over a delivery of 1kg (35oz) of cannabis from Malaysia to Singapore in 2013.

    Though he was not caught during the delivery, prosecutors said he was responsible for coordinating it, and traced two phone numbers used by a deliveryman back to Tangaraju.

    Tangaraju claimed he was not the person communicating with others connected to the case. He said he had lost one of the phones and denied owning the second one.

    Singapore law mandates the death penalty for drug trafficking and has lesser penalties for couriers. In Tangaraju's last appeal, the judge agreed with the prosecution that Tangaraju was responsible for coordinating the delivery, which made him ineligible for a more lenient sentence.

    Activists have also raised concerns that Tangaraju was not given adequate access to an interpreter and had to argue his last appeal on his own since his family was unable to secure a lawyer.

    Singapore authorities say Tangaraju requested for an interpreter only during the trial, and not earlier. They added that he had access to legal counsel throughout the process.

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    Tangaraju's sister Leela Suppiah (centre) marched with activists on Sunday

    Sir Richard, who previously criticised the 2022 execution of intellectually impaired Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, said Tangaraju's case was "shocking on multiple levels".

    In a blog post, he said Singapore "may be about to kill an innocent man" on the back of "more than dubious circumstances".

    "The death penalty is already a dark stain on the country's reputation. An execution following such an unsafe conviction would only make things worse," he said.

    Rebutting his allegations, Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry said his claims were untrue and accused him of "disrespect for Singapore's judges and our criminal justice system".

    It said the death penalty was "an essential component" in a multi-pronged approach that has been "effective in keeping Singapore safe and secure".

    Kirsten Han, a spokesperson for Singaporean anti-death penalty advocacy group the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), said the government did not want to appear to buckle under pressure.

    But, she added, "of all the things that Singapore punches above its weight for on the international stage and at the UN, defending its right to murder people in the name of its citizens is not something we should be proud of for being outstanding on the international stage".

    Singapore's strict rules stand in contrast to some of its neighbours' recent moves. Thailand has legalised the trade of cannabis while Malaysia has ended the mandatory death penalty for serious crimes.

    Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Tangaraju's family members said they were able to meet him from behind a glass partition at Changi Prison after his notice of execution was released last week.

    "He puts up a brave front for my mother because he does not want her to break down," his niece Subhashini Ilango said. "He has mentally prepared for this day to come. He does feel there's a great injustice and he'll be executed for something he did not do."

    His family said they would continue to press for reforms in Singapore's legal system even if Tangaraju ends up executed.

    "If such an injustice happens to my brother, I wouldn't want it to happen to anybody else so I will continue to fight," said his sister Leela.
     
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  2. Singapore executes man for coordinating cannabis delivery
    Singapore executes man for coordinating cannabis delivery

    HONG KONG (AP) — Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency from his family and protests from activists that he was convicted on weak evidence.

    Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for abetting the trafficking of 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cannabis. Under Singapore laws, trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis may result in the death penalty.

    Activist Kirsten Han of the Transformative Justice Collective, which advocates for the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore, said in a tweet that Tangaraju was hanged Wednesday morning and that his family had been given the death certificate.

    Although Tangaraju was not caught with the cannabis, prosecutors said phone numbers traced him as the person responsible for coordinating the delivery of the drugs. Tangaraju had maintained that he was not the one communicating with the others connected to the case.

    Relatives and activists had sent letters to Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob to plead for clemency. In a video posted by the Transformative Justice Collective, Tangaraju's niece and nephew appealed to the public to raise concerns to the government over Tangaraju’s impending execution.

    An application filed by Tangaraju on Monday for a stay of execution was dismissed without a hearing Tuesday.
    (snipped)
     
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  3. Hell yeah, shut that gateway before it ruins us all. I’m sure this idea has been kicked around the SC Statehouse before. Probably still is. Kill em all, God can sort em.
     

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