Death penalty carried out for 52 grams of heroin in Singapore

The Singapore government carried out another execution this week. This was reported by Zamin.uz.

A 38-year-old man named Pannir Selvam Prantaman was hanged for possessing 52 grams of heroin. He was the son of a Malaysian priest and was arrested in 2014.

The trial lasted several years. His relatives and lawyers filed multiple appeals to overturn the death sentence and petitioned the president for clemency, but all efforts were unsuccessful.

According to Singapore law, individuals caught with more than 15 grams of heroin or over 500 grams of cannabis are mandatorily sentenced to death. Pannir claimed in court that he was unaware he was carrying drugs.

While awaiting his sentence, he wrote poems and songs in his cell. His friends remember him as a calm, kind, and religiously conscientious person.

An anti-death penalty activist in Singapore considers it unjust to take a human life over 52 grams. Despite international criticism, Singapore officials maintain a firm stance, emphasizing that such measures are the only way to protect the country from drug trafficking.

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations argue that the death penalty is not effective in reducing drug trafficking and describe it as cruelty carried out by the state.