Singapore Executes Man for Involvement in Selling Cannabis

Singapore Executes Man for Involvement in Selling Cannabis

Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of coordinating¹ a cannabis delivery.

Cannabis is another word for the drug marijuana.

The man was executed although his family asked for clemency² and activists⁴ protested his sentence. They said the evidence against the man was weak.

A court in Singapore sentenced Tangaraju Suppiah to death in 2018 for assisting in the trafficking of 1 kilogram of cannabis. Under Singapore's laws, delivering more than 500 grams of cannabis may result in the death penalty. Tangaraju was 46 years old.

Tangaraju was hanged Wednesday morning. The news came from a message on Twitter from activist³ Kirsten Han of the Transformative Justice Collective. The group supports ending the death penalty in Singapore.

Tangaraju was not caught with the cannabis. But government lawyers said phone numbers proved he was the person responsible for trafficking the drugs. Tangaraju said he was not the one communicating with the others connected to the case.

Ravina Shamdasani is the spokesperson for United Nations Human Rights. She called on Singapore's government to suspend executions for drug-related crimes.

Executing people "for drug offences is incompatible⁵ with international norms and standards," said Shamdasani. She added that increasing evidence shows the death penalty is ineffective at stopping crime.

Singapore officials said the punishment is effective. They said studies show that drug traffickers carry less than the amount that would bring an execution.

Singapore's use of the death penalty for drugs is different than its neighbors. In Thailand, cannabis is mostly legal. Malaysia has ended the required death penalty for serious crimes.

Singapore executed 11 people last year for drug crimes. One case that caused international concern involved a Malaysian man whose lawyers said he was mentally disabled.

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network condemned⁶ Tangaraju's execution.

The group said in a statement that Singapore's use of the death penalty goes against international human rights standards. It added that the death penalty calls into question "the legitimacy⁷ of Singapore's criminal justice system."

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

An application filed by Tangaraju on Monday to cancel the execution was dismissed without a hearing Tuesday.

Maya Foa is director of the non-profit human rights organization Reprieve⁸. She said in a statement that Singapore's government does not give people sentenced to death fair treatment. She said lawyers who work on the cases are threatened.

Critics say Singapore's death penalty has mostly been used on low-level criminals. They say the death penalty has done little to stop drug traffickers and organized crime.

But Singapore's government says all those executed have been treated fairly under the law. The government says the death penalty is necessary to protect its citizens.

Words in This Story

coordinate⁹ — v. to organize an activity so it is carried out as planned

clemency — n. asking for better treatment than what is expected under the conditions or law; asking for mercy

traffic — v. to be directly involved in the trade of something illegal

incompatible — adj. in conflict with

norm — adj. an acceptable level of behavior among people

standards –n. (pl.) ideas about what is right morally

legitimacy — n. the condition of being real, accepted and undisputed

1 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

2 clemency   

n.温和，仁慈，宽厚

参考例句：

• The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。
• They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

8 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

9 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。