Singapore hangs first woman in 19 years after she was convicted of trafficking 31 grams of heroin

Singapore has executed a woman for the first time in 19 years.

Saridewi Djamani, 45, had been sentenced to death in 2018 for drug trafficking despite calls for the city-state to cease capital punishment for drug-related crimes.

She was caught with nearly 31 grams (1.09 ounces) of diamorphine, or pure heroin, the Central Narcotics Bureau said.

Its statement said the amount was “sufficient to feed the addiction of about 370 abusers for a week.”

Singapore’s laws mandate the death penalty for anyone convicted of trafficking more than 500 grams (17.64 ounces) of cannabis and 15 grams (0.53 ounces) of heroin.

Ms Djamani’s execution came two days after that of a Singaporean man, Mohammed Aziz Hussain, 56, for trafficking around 50 grams (1.75 ounces) of heroin.

The narcotics bureau said both prisoners were accorded due process, including appeals of their conviction and sentence and petition for presidential clemency.

Ms Djamani claimed she was unable to give accurate statements to the police due to suffering symptoms of drug withdrawals, but this was dismissed by the judge, TSJ says.

Human rights groups, international activists and the United Nations have urged Singapore to halt executions for drug offenses and say there is increasing evidence it is ineffective as a deterrent.

Singapore authorities insist capital punishment is important to halting drug demand and supply.

Human rights groups say it has executed 15 people for drug offenses since it resumed hangings in March 2022, an average of one a month.

Anti-death penalty activists said the last woman known to have been hanged in Singapore was 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen, also for drug trafficking, in 2004.

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