Singapore Executed First Woman in About 20 Years

The death penalty in Singapore has always been a point of contention.

Some feel that stiff punishments are necessary to keep the peace and order in Singapore, while others think that such inhumane punishments go overboard.

Whatever the case is, it is a fact that Singapore does have capital punishment for certain offences.

Recently, another offender was put to death.

Here is why this set tongues wagging again.

Singapore Executed First Woman After 20 Years

Yesterday (28 July 2023), a female drug trafficker was executed in Singapore.

The offender in question was Ms Saridewi Binte Djamni, who was 45 years old. Her crime was drug-related.

While the heavy punishments attached to drug trafficking in Singapore are well known, this case garnered considerable attention for another reason.

Ms Saridewi was the first female to be executed in Singapore after about 20 years.

The local Chinese newspaper, Zaobao, reported that the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) shared with media outlets that the woman had possessed no less than 30.72 grams of heroin.

She had reportedly been trying to sell the heroin.

For these acts, Ms Saridewi was sentenced to death on 6 July 2018.

She Failed to Appeal Her Conviction and Sentence

Although the death penalty in Singapore is harsh, there are some ways a person sentenced to death may try to cling to life.

One of them is by filing an appeal for the conviction and sentence.

This was what Ms Saridewi did. However, she was unsuccessful.

On 6 October 2022, after about four years after her conviction, the Court of Appeal dismissed Ms Saridewi’s death sentence.

We can’t imagine what those four years of waiting must have felt like for the offender and her family members.

For those who are unaware, the Court of Appeal is the apex court of Singapore and the highest court of the land. There is no further appeal to judges beyond the Court of Appeal.

She then tried her last resort appeal to the President for a presidential pardon. However, this attempt was again unsuccessful.

As a result, Ms Saridewi sealed her fate by being sentenced to death for her drug possession and attempted trafficking transgressions.

Under Singapore’s strict drug laws, anyone who is in possession of or found to be trafficking any controlled substances or drugs will be violating the laws in Singapore.

For those who are found to be in possession of more than 15 grams of heroin, the death penalty is inevitable.

What do you think about Singapore’s death penalty for drug-related offences?