Two more inmates hanged in Singapore prison

Two more prisoners on death row in Changi Prison were executed today, taking the total number of inmates hanged in Singapore since February to eight.  

No details are available as the families of both prisoners requested to be given privacy. 

Today's was the first of two double executions planned ahead of Singapore's National Day celebration on Aug 9.

Another two prisoners are slated to hang on Aug 5.

One of the four prisoners is a Malaysian who was among 17 death row prisoners involved in a historic suit against the Singapore government, accusing it of ethnic bias in their prosecutions.

Another fellow plaintiff scheduled to hang was Abdul Rahim Shapiee, a 45-year-old Singaporean Malay.

All four were convicted of charges under Singapore's draconian drug laws, which have come under increasing scrutiny in recent months. 

Lawyers and activists have pointed out that those executed are mostly from poor families, hired as mules by drug kingpins who have largely escaped arrest, an argument that Singapore courts have rejected.

Singapore has so far executed two of the 17 plaintiffs, whose suit was thrown out last year, and whose lawyers were slapped with heavy fines over charges of "abusing the process".