Singapore Executes Two for Drug Trafficking

SINGAPORE — Singapore executed two local men for drug trafficking on Friday, officials said, as the city-state maintains its zero-tolerance stance on narcotics despite continued criticism from international human rights groups.

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) confirmed in a statement that the capital sentences for a 62-year-old man and a 54-year-old man, both Singaporean nationals, were carried out on Jan. 9. Both had been convicted of possessing controlled drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

The 62-year-old was convicted of trafficking not less than 36.61 grams of diamorphine, or pure heroin, while the 54-year-old was convicted of trafficking not less than 50.51 grams of the same substance. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the death penalty is mandatory if the amount of heroin trafficked exceeds 15 grams.

The CNB stated that both men were "accorded full due process under the law" and were represented by legal counsel throughout their proceedings. Their petitions to the President for clemency were unsuccessful.

Singaporean authorities have long defended the use of capital punishment, arguing it serves as an effective deterrent against organized drug syndicates. "Capital punishment is imposed only for the most serious crimes, such as the trafficking of significant quantities of drugs which cause very serious harm, not just to individual drug abusers, but also to their families and the wider society," the CNB said in its release.

The double execution marks a continuation of the city-state's frequent use of the gallows. According to rights activists, Singapore executed at least 12 people in 2025, the majority for drug-related offenses.

Critics and anti-death penalty advocates, including the Transformative Justice Collective, have argued that the law disproportionately targets low-level "mules" rather than the kingpins of the drug trade. They have called on the government to establish a moratorium on executions, pointing to a global trend toward abolition.

The Friday hangings occurred just as Singaporean authorities announced a major drug bust at the Pasir Panjang scanning station, where more than 500 kilograms of cannabis were detected in a transit container on Jan. 3.

Singapore's laws remain among the world's harshest. In addition to heroin, the death penalty is mandatory for trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or 250 grams of methamphetamine.

Source: DPN, Agencies, AI, January 13, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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