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Singapore faces criticism for use of death penalty and allegations about prisoner treatment

In April, 46-year-old Tangaraju Suppiah was executed by the Singaporean authorities after being found guilty of conspiring to smuggle cannabis. In 2022, all 11 people executed in Singapore had also been convicted of drug-related charges. However, the IBA’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) says that drug-related crimes don’t ‘meet the threshold of “the most serious crimes” for which death sentences may be imposed under Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’.

In August 2022, the IBAHRI condemned the rise in executions in Singapore and urged the country to move towards abolishing the death penalty. Singapore’s Ministry of Law and its Ministry of Home Affairs, however, jointly stated last autumn that ‘there is no international consensus against the use of capital punishment when it is imposed according to the due process of law and with judicial safeguards’. A spokesperson for the two ministries told Global Insight that the death penalty is an ‘effective deterrent’ when it comes to the ‘most serious crimes’, including the trafficking of significant quantities of drugs as well as crimes such as murder.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was among those to request that the execution of Suppiah be abandoned, highlighting that ‘imposing the death penalty for drug offences is incompatible with international norms and standards’ and noting its concerns around due process and respect for fair trial guarantees in relation to the allegations against Suppiah. Amnesty International suggested that Suppiah didn’t have access to a lawyer or a Tamil interpreter during his interrogation by the police.
In 2022, Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, a Malaysian national with psychosocial disabilities, was also executed in Singapore. Prior to his death, members of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council raised concerns that Dharmalingam had not been provided with the necessary procedural accommodations for his disabilities during interrogation.
‘The current situation as it comes to access to counsel, fair trial rights and the inability of capital defence lawyers to practice because of the types of intimidation and harassment they face is a huge access to justice and rule of law issue’, says Preetha Gopalan, Joint Head of UK Litigation and Project Lead – Death Penalty (South East Asia) at the non-governmental organisation Reprieve. ‘What we’ve seen in the last year is a significant number of individuals having to self-represent from prison via Zoom, sometimes in cases where their lives are hanging in the balance. To say that this is a system that has access to fair trials and due process, it’s just completely not in line with the facts on the ground.’

 

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The use of the death penalty in Singapore has drawn criticism from various human rights organizations and international bodies. The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) argues that drug-related crimes do not meet the threshold of the "most serious crimes" for which death sentences may be imposed under international human rights standards.

In response to the rise in executions in Singapore, the IBAHRI has called on the country to move towards abolishing the death penalty. However, Singapore's Ministry of Law and Ministry of Home Affairs have stated that there is no international consensus against the use of capital punishment as long as it is imposed according to due process and with judicial safeguards. They argue that the death penalty is an effective deterrent for serious crimes such as drug trafficking and murder.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Amnesty International have both expressed concerns about the use of the death penalty in Singapore. They argue that it is incompatible with international norms and standards, and have highlighted issues related to due process and fair trial guarantees. There have been allegations that individuals facing the death penalty, such as Tangaraju Suppiah and Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, did not have access to legal representation or necessary accommodations for disabilities during interrogation.

Human rights organizations, such as Reprieve, have raised concerns about access to counsel, fair trial rights, and the intimidation and harassment faced by capital defense lawyers in Singapore. They argue that the current system does not provide fair trials or due process, pointing to cases where individuals have had to self-represent from prison via Zoom, even in life-or-death situations.

Overall, the criticisms against Singapore's use of the death penalty revolve around concerns about international human rights standards, due process, access to legal representation, and accommodations for disabilities. The debate continues as human rights organizations and international bodies push for the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore.