Singapore hangs two more men amid continued outcry over capital punishment

Malaysian Kalwant Singh and Singaporean Norasharee Gous were hanged on Thursday morning and their families have collected their death certificates and belongings, anti-death penalty activist Kirsten Han said

Singapore has defended its tough stance on drugs and retention of the death penalty, with minister K. Shanmugam saying he doesn’t have ‘any doubts’ about the policy

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Singapore’s Court of Appeal dismissed a last-minute legal challenge by Kalwant Singh, who was convicted in 2016 of trafficking 120.9g of diamorphine. Photo: AFP/File

Published: 7:22pm, 6 Jul 2022Updated: 6:23pm, 7 Jul 2022

A Malaysian national and a Singaporean convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore were hanged on Thursday morning, taking the tally of executions in the city state since March to four.

These hangings, which follow a pause of executions in 2020 and 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, have raised concerns among activists that the island republic will soon carry out more executions.

There are currently an estimated 60 people on Singapore’s death row.

Malaysian Kalwant Singh and Singaporean Norasharee Gous were hanged at Changi Prison on Thursday morning and their families have collected their death certificates and belongings, anti-death penalty activist Kirsten Han said.

The island republic’s top court on Wednesday dismissed Singh’s last-minute plea for a stay of execution.

The family of Singh, 32, was notified last week of authorities’ plans to carry out the execution. As with recent executions in the city state, anti-death penalty activists have sought to galvanise support for a 11th-hour reprieve.

The European Union delegation in Singapore as well as leading rights groups led calls for a stay of execution ahead of the court hearing on Wednesday.

Activists present at the hearing at the Court of Appeal as well as the Malaysian lawyers’ group Lawyers for Liberty, confirmed his appeal was dismissed.

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