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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Singapore: Young Malaysian rider arrested with a kilo of drugs faces death penalty

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Singaporean authorities arrested a young Malaysian rider who was carrying heroin and meth worth $86,000 at the Woodlands checkpoint.

The 20-year-old motorcyclist had in his possession almost one kilogram of drugs, which far exceeds the minimum amount of contraband that attracts death penalty in Singapore.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said in a joint statement that apart from the heroin, about 120 gram of meth also was recovered from the rider.

The rider arrived at the checkpoint at 5.20 in the morning on Monday. The checkpoint authorities discovered a packet of heroin weighing 460 grams on him and arrested him.

They then handed him to the central narcotics bureau officials, who recovered another packet of heroin from him which contained the same quantity of the contraband.

Drug related offences get harsh punishment in Singapore, including death. The island republic has been in the forefront of nations that vouch for strict punishment for drug crimes.

Under Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act provides anyone trafficking heroin above 15 grams can be punished with death.

In a speech at a UN conference last week, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said the country will never go soft in its fight against drugs.

"We believe that drugs will destroy our society. With 200 million people traveling through our borders every year, and given Singaporeans' purchasing power, a soft approach will mean our country will be washed over with drugs," Shanmugam said.

Source: ibtimes.com, April 26, 2016

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