The Albany Gazette - Singapore hangs 4th person in three weeks

The United Nations and rights groups say capital punishment has no proven deterrent effect and have called for it to be abolished, but Singaporean officials insist it has helped make the country one of Asia's safest.

Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad, a Singaporean citizen born in the city-state to a Singaporean mother and an Iranian father, was convicted in 2013 for drug trafficking.

Appeals against his conviction and sentence, as well as petitions for clemency from the president, had been dismissed. After he was informed of his impending hanging, Masoud filed an 11th-hour appeal to stay his execution, which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Thursday.

Calling him "an Iranian citizen", Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi also appealed to his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday to halt the execution.

"Araghchi expressed Iran's respect for Singapore's legal framework but appealed to Singaporean authorities to reconsider the execution of Masoud Rahimi, emphasizing humanitarian considerations," Iran's foreign ministry said on X.

However, Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) announced "the capital sentence of death imposed on Masoud Rahimi bin Mehrzad... was carried out on 29 November 2024".

"Masoud... was convicted of having in his possession for the purpose of trafficking, not less than 31.14 grams (1.1 ounces) of diamorphine, or pure heroin," CNB said.

Under the country's tough drug laws, the death penalty applies for any amount above a 15-gram threshold for heroin.

It added that "capital punishment is imposed only for the most serious crimes, such as the trafficking of significant quantities of drugs which cause very serious harm".

His execution was the fourth in three weeks in Singapore.

Rosman Abdullah, 55, was hanged on November 22 and two men -- a 39-year-old Malaysian and a 53-year-old Singaporean -- were hanged on November 15 all for drug offences.

So far this year, there have been nine executions by the Singaporean government -- eight for drug trafficking and one for murder.

According to an AFP tally, Singapore has hanged 25 people since it resumed carrying out the death penalty in March 2022 after a two-year halt during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UN this month reiterated its call on Singapore to review its position on capital punishment.

(P.Davis--TAG)