Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) announced on Friday the execution of Rosman bin Abdullah, an individual convicted of drug trafficking. Rosman’s execution is the third in the country in less than two weeks, as the CNB reported the execution of two other individuals convicted of drug possession last Friday.
Under Singaporean law, death penalties are administered by hanging.
Rosman’s execution came despite an international appeal for Singaporean authorities to halt the executions of Rosman and all other individuals. Amnesty International urged authorities to urgently abolish its implementation of the death penalty in accordance with international law and standards. The UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner highlighted Rosman’s psychosocial disabilities and lack of procedural accommodations or individualized assistance to support him with his disabilities during his interrogation and trial. UN experts previously raised concerns about Rosman’s mental health alongside that of several other defendants in a 2022 letter to the Singaporean government, stating that the death penalty is “overinclusive and unavoidably violate[s] human rights law.”
Singaporean authorities denied that Rosman and other convicts suffered from any mental disability, arguing that Singapore’s High Court individually considered their mental condition at the time of their offense. The government further affirmed its commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Rosman was convicted and sentenced to death on July 16, 2010, over the possession and trafficking of 57,43 grams of diamorphine. He appealed his conviction, which was dismissed by the Singapore Court of Appeal in 2011. He further applied for a re-sentencing under the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act 2012, but the High Court rejected the application in September 2015. His petitions to the president for clemency and other post-appeal applications were also eventually denied.
The death penalty is still implemented in Singapore despite a significant drop in its use, as Amnesty reported a reduction of more than 70 executions every year in the 1990s. However, the organization highlighted the country’s flawed reforms to capital sentencing due to its continuous obligatory application and its use as a punishment for drug-related offenses.
Under international regulations, the death penalty must be strictly restricted to only the most serious crimes, as provided by Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Despite condemnations and calls for the country to abolish the implementation of the death penalty, Singapore maintains its use is only reserved for the most serious crimes, such as drug trafficking of important quantities. According to organizations such as the UN and the International Narcotics Control Board, such offenses do not fulfill the requirements for the death penalty under international standards and its use consequently violates international human rights.
