Singapore proceeds with execution despite protest

Death row prisoner Tangaraju Suppiah was hanged at dawn today as Singapore proceeded with its first execution in months despite protest from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson. 

When contacted, anti-death penalty activist Kokila Annamalai confirmed that the execution was carried out.

A spokesman for the Singapore Prison Service meanwhile told AFP that Tangaraju "had his capital sentence carried out" at Changi Prison. 

Tangaraju, 46, was convicted in 2017 of "abetting by engaging in a conspiracy to traffic" 1,017.9g of cannabis.

The amount was twice the minimum amount that merits the death sentence under Singapore's drug laws, some of the toughest in the world. 

He was sentenced to death in 2018. 

His family had pleaded for clemency as well as a retrial, while Branson, who has been vocal against Singapore's use of the death penalty, questioned its effectiveness as a deterrent.

"Killing those at the lowest rungs of the illicit drug supply chain... is hardly effective in curbing an international trade worth hundreds of billions every year," he said on April 25. 

"Singapore is an otherwise wonderful country, so it's very sad to see some of its policies harking back to colonialism, and even reminiscent of medieval times."

The United Nations Human Rights Office meanwhile expressed concern over "due process and respect for fair trial guarantees".

"The UN Human Rights Office calls on the authorities not to proceed with his execution," it said yesterday.