Singaporean authorities executed Mohamed Shalleh Bin Abdul Latiff, a 39-year-old former delivery driver, Thursday for trafficking 54.04 grams of diamorphine, a controlled drug, which is four times the amount required to trigger the mandatory death penalty under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act. Shalleh is the second person executed by the country in the last week.

Shalleh maintained his innocence throughout his trial, claiming that he believed he was delivering contraband cigarettes on behalf of a friend. He asserted that he did not know the contents of the bag because he trusted his friend. However, the High Court judge rejected Shalleh’s defense and ruled that he had failed to rebut the presumption of knowledge under the Misuse of Drugs Act, which presumes that someone found in possession of drugs knew the nature of the drugs.

The use of the death penalty for drug trafficking is part of Singapore’s comprehensive harm prevention policy, which targets both drug demand and supply. The Central Narcotics Bureau stated that capital punishment is reserved for the most serious crimes, “such as the trafficking of significant quantities of drugs, which cause very serious harm not only to individual drug abusers but also their families and the wider society.” The Singaporean government defended its use of the death penalty as a necessary measure to combat drug trafficking and protect society from the harm caused by drugs.

Despite the government’s defense of its policy, human rights organizations continue to criticize Singapore’s use of the death penalty for drug offenses, arguing that it violates international human rights norms. Amnesty International’s death penalty expert, Chiara Sangiorgio, has criticized Singapore’s recent executions, stating that they highlight the country’s lack of death penalty reform. Sangiorgio argued that the use of the death penalty for drug offenses violates international human rights laws and standards and disproportionately affects marginalized individuals. UN human rights experts also urged Singapore to review the scope of the death penalty and establish an official moratorium on all executions with the aim of fully abolishing the death penalty.