Taliban-style: Singapore to execute Indian man for just helping smuggler conceal little over 1kg ganja

Singapore: In a case that has rekindled criticism over Singapore’s use of death penalty, a 46-year-old man will be put to death coming Wednesday on charges of helping a smuggler conceal little more than 1 Kg of cannabis.

Tangaraju Suppiah was given the death penalty in 2018 for his involvement in the attempted trafficking of marijuana weighing just over a kilogramme (1,017.9 grammes).

A judge found that he had a phone number that drug traffickers were using to bring drugs into Singapore. It has been reported that he was arrested after police caught traffickers.

According to Tangaraju’s family and opponents of the death penalty who have condemned the way the case was handled by the authorities, the prisoner allegedly did not receive enough legal representation.

Tangaraju was the only one to get death penalty among all the accused persons despite the fact that no drug was found in his possession.

Additionally, they claim that Tangaraju was denied access to a Tamil interpreter while he was the subject of a police investigation.

“Tangaraju said his English is not that good, he wanted an interpreter but he couldn’t get one. Then he’s really disadvantaged because if he can’t properly understand the police statement that was read back to him, how could he make any amendments?” activist Kirsten Han told Al Jazeera.

Unread letters

In a last-ditch effort to stop the execution, Tangaraju’s family handed President Halimah Yacob of Singapore thousands of letters pleading for mercy.

They haven’t heard back from the president or her staff yet. Meanwhile several activists including a British entrepreneur also begged for the execution to be put on hold.

But as Wednesday’s scheduled hanging draws near, the authorities don’t seem inclined to take any last-ditch pleas.

According to Tangaraju’s sister Leelavathy, “They measured the rope for the execution using his height and weight.”

“He informed us that he would be taken to see the execution chamber so that the staff could explain the process to him and show him where he would be standing, among other things,” she said.

Leelavathy reports that her brother is “in good spirits” and continues to be “confident that there will be justice” despite the fact that his execution may take place in the coming hours.

Timeline of Tangaraju’s case

Tangaraju’s initial police detention for drug use and failing to appear for a urine test happened in 2014.

According to Leelavathy, he began using drugs as a result of older acquaintances in his community offering him the substance.

“He was never given any support or tools to understand or cope with his habits or find any help for his dependence on drugs,” she said.

“He’s never received counselling or therapy, or even education about drugs. He’s only been punished his whole life,” she said.

Police looked into Tangaraju’s possible connections to a 2014 cannabis trafficking case involving two smugglers while he was being held on remand.

“He wasn’t even at the scene; he wasn’t even detained with the drugs. They apprehended those two other men in September 2013, therefore he was essentially connected to this case after the fact, claimed Han.

No death penalty for ‘actual’ smugglers

Those found in possession of the drugs weren’t put on death row.

After the court determined that Tangaraju was connected to the drug traffickers through a phone number that the prosecution claimed belonged to him, Tangaraju was ultimately convicted guilty of conspiring to traffic cannabis.

In 2019, he filed an appeal against his conviction, but Singapore’s Court of Appeal dismissed it.

Late last year, Tangaraju attempted to have his case reviewed but was unsuccessful. He could not find a lawyer to take his case, so he was forced to represent himself in court.

First hanging in six months

The hanging of Tangaraju is expected to be the year’s first in Singapore. According to a local advocacy group called the Transformative Justice Collective, 11 drug offenders were hanged in this country in 2022.

The story of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian national who was one of those killed and whose IQ was discovered to be 69, showing an intellectual handicap, garnered international attention.

Singapore’s steadfast adherence to its zero-tolerance policy on drugs stands in stark contrast to some of the region’s neighbours who have loosened their drug laws.

Thailand legalised the cultivation and possession of cannabis last year after removing it from its list of prohibited drugs.

Legislators in Malaysia adopted law changes earlier this month that will end the mandatory execution of major felonies including drug trafficking.

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