Virgin’s Richard Branson joins calls urging Singapore not to hang man over 1kg of cannabis

“Tangaraju was actually not anywhere near these drugs at the time of his arrest. This was largely a circumstantial case that relied on inferences,” Branson, who is a member of the Geneva-based Global Commission on Drug Policy, wrote on his blog.

“Killing those at the lowest rungs of the illicit drug supply chain … is hardly effective in curbing an international trade worth hundreds of billions every year,” he said, adding that he hoped authorities would review the case.

The Asian financial hub has some of the world’s toughest anti-narcotics laws and insists the death penalty remains an effective deterrent against trafficking.