Death Penalty News

The judges argued he would be aware that the job involved something dangerous or illegal, because he was "accustomed to criminal activities". A 73-year-old Singaporean man was unsuccessful in appealing against his conviction and sentence for drug trafficking in 2019. Previously, Low Sze Song and his accomplice, 37-year-old Malaysian national Sivaprakash Krishnan, were each found guilty of trafficking at least 43.2g of pure heroin, exceeding the 15g threshold for the mandatory death penalty under Singapore law. After a trial, they were both sentenced to death on Apr. 14, 2023.

2,707 executions worldwide in 2025, a record for over 40 years. Every year, Amnesty International releases a report detailing the use of the death penalty from the previous year. In this year’s report, there was a staggering rise in executions and death sentences, carried out by a handful of governments determined to rule by fear. Here, we provide the details on the main findings from the report, at a global and regional level.

Amnesty International Malaysia, however, says that without full abolition, Malaysia remains with the minority of countries still holding on to an unjust and irreversible punishment. PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s judicial reforms have led to a clear decline in the use of the death penalty, with only 15 new death sentences recorded in 2025, although Amnesty International Malaysia says full abolition remains a distant goal. The rights group said Malaysian courts imposed 15 death sentences in 2025, down from 24 in 2024 and 38 in 2023, following the abolition of the mandatory death penalty.

SINGAPORE: Singapore's criminal justice policies are in accordance with international law, grounded in evidence and calibrated to its national context to protect citizens, the country's delegation told a session at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. This was in response to recommendations by several states calling for the suspension and abolition of the death penalty, said Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Singapore presented its approach on Tuesday (May 12) at its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) - a process which reviews the human rights records of all UN member states once every five years. This was Singapore's fourth UPR.

Death penalty abolitionist and social justice activist Kokila Annamalai Parvathi was charged on April 23, over her refusal two-and-a-half years ago to comply with a government censorship order. As previously reported by Green Left, Annamalai defied a directive under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), to issue a “correction” to an online post she and the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) made about the 2024 execution of Azwan bin Bohari. The post explained that Azwan had been on death row since 2019 after being arrested under the Misuse of Drugs Act four years earlier. It pointed out many inconsistencies and injustices in the way his execution had been handled by the state.

A 25-year-old Portuguese national was arrested at Changi Airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle approximately 36.3kg of cannabis into Singapore. The arrest occurred on April 14, 2026, though details were released by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on April 22. The suspect arrived at Changi Airport on April 14 and was scheduled to depart the following day. His passage through the Terminal 2 Baggage South Red/Green Channel triggered a secondary inspection. K-9 officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) assisted in the operation, leading to the discovery of 68 packets of controlled drugs concealed within his luggage.

SINGAPORE — Singaporean authorities executed Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj at Changi Prison on Thursday, April 16, 2026, following his 2019 conviction for importing 1,009.1 grams of cannabis. Bamadhaj, 41, though some reports have cited his age as 46, was arrested on July 12, 2018, during a routine search at the Woodlands Checkpoint. Officers discovered the narcotics wrapped in plastic and hidden within his vehicle as he attempted to enter Singapore from Malaysia.  Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the threshold for the mandatory death penalty involving cannabis is 500 grams, a limit this shipment exceeded by more than double.

(London, April 15, 2026) – The Singaporean government should immediately halt the execution of Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj, scheduled for April 16, 2026, for trafficking cannabis, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP), and Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) said today. Singaporean authorities arrested Omar, a Singaporean national, now 41, on July 12, 2018, and a court later convicted him of importing just over one kilogram of cannabis, considered a Class A controlled drug under the 1973 Misuse of Drugs Act . After Singapore’s highest court dismissed his appeal in October 2021, he was sentenced to death in February 2022.

Singapore’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Mustaqim bin Abdul Kadir, who was convicted of trafficking a capital quantity of drugs to justify a death penalty. The court ruled that his attempt to introduce fresh psychiatric evidence amounted to an “abuse of process”. In its judgement text released on Tuesday (24 March), the Court of Appeal upheld both his conviction and sentence. They found no merit in his arguments, calling his account “self-interested” and inconsistent.

SINGAPORE – Despite criticism against Singapore and international tolerance in attitudes towards drug abuse, the Republic will continue to take a very tough line in its war against drug abuse. Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said this on March 12 at the Community Resilience Against Drug Abuse Roundtable 2026 held at Furama RiverFront hotel. Citing the World Drug Report 2025, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said 292 million people worldwide used drugs in 2022. This figure jumped to about 316 million in 2023. He said that while many countries had either given up on the fight against drugs or were planning to legalise drugs, Singapore had done the opposite by continuing to be tough on drugs.

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy. The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.” Thresholds for Capital Punishment Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country: Cannabis: More than 350 grams. Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams....

Lingkesvaran was sentenced to death in 2018.  A Malaysian man convicted of trafficking a significant quantity of heroin was executed in Singapore on Feb. 11, 2026, according to an official statement issued by the Singapore authorities.  Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, 33, had been found guilty of trafficking not less than 52.77 grammes of diamorphine, also known as pure heroin.  Singapore law mandates the death penalty for cases involving more than 15 grams of the drug.  The authorities said the amount involved was enough to sustain the addiction of approximately 630 abusers for a week, highlighting the harm caused by large-scale drug trafficking.

Countries across Southeast Asia are moving away from the use of capital punishment. But Singapore remains an outlier. From Vietnam to Malaysia and Indonesia, Southeast Asian governments are narrowing the use of the death penalty and edging, often cautiously, toward abolition.  At present, eight of the 11 Southeast Asian countries retain the death penalty. Only Cambodia, the Philippines and Timor-Leste have abolished it in law. But recent years have seen most of the retentionist states abide by de facto moratoriums on executions and pass new legislation so death is no longer the mandatory punishment for certain crimes.

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.

SINGAPORE, Dec 29 — A 39-year-old Malaysian man has been arrested at Singapore’s northern border after authorities found more than 3kg of cannabis and 1.7kg of Ice during checks at Woodlands Checkpoint, in a case that crosses the city-state’s capital punishment thresholds for drug importation. According to a joint statement issued today by Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau and Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, the man was flagged for enhanced screening on the evening of December 22 after information from ICA’s Integrated Targeting Centre.

A shocking, devastating loss that none of us saw coming. Rest in Power, M Ravi. How do I process something that doesn’t feel real? As I'm writing this, the amount of information I have is distressingly small. M Ravi is dead. He was pronounced dead at Tan Tock Seng Hospital this morning. The police say they don’t suspect foul play, but investigations are ongoing. None of us saw this coming.

M Ravi never gave up despite the odds stacked against him by the Singapore regime, which has always used its grip on the legal process to silence critics. M Ravi, one of Singapore's best-known personalities who was at the forefront of legal cases challenging the PAP regime over human rights violations, has died. He was 56. The news has come as a shock to friends and activists. Singapore's The Straits Times reported that police were investigating the "unnatural death".

Ravi Madasamy, a high-profile lawyer who represented death-row inmates and campaigned against capital punishment, was found dead in the early hours, prompting a police investigation into an unnatural death KUALA LUMPUR — Prolific Singapore lawyer Ravi Madasamy who tried to save Malaysian drug traffickers from the gallows found dead in the early hours with police investigating a case of unnatural death. Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, who had previously represented 56-year-old Ravi in court and described him as a friend, said he was deeply saddened by the news.

Singapore's High Court dismissed on Tuesday the first legal challenge in years to the city-state's mandatory death penalty for certain drug crimes, a blow for campaigners in a year that has seen executions peak.  Human rights activists and relatives of 3 executed drug convicts had petitioned the court, arguing that the mandatory death penalty violates parts of Singapore's constitution guaranteeing the right to life and equal protection under the law.  They also said legislation restricts judges from using their own discretion in issuing sentences, despite amendments in 2012 that carved out some exceptions. 

Singapore’s death penalty has been in the news again.  Enshrined in law in 1975, a decade after the island split from Malaysia and became an independent state, the penalty can see people sentenced to hang for drug trafficking, murder or firearms offenses, among other crimes. Executions have often involved trafficking under the Misuse of Drugs Act, with offenses measured in grams.  Those executed have included people from low-income backgrounds and foreign nationals who are sometimes not fluent in English, according to human rights advocates such as Amnesty International and the International Drug Policy Consortium.