SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Convicted drug importer Omar Yacob Bamadhaj was hanged on April 16 for bringing 1,009.1g of cannabis into Singapore in July 2018.
The 46-year-old Singaporean was convicted of the capital offence on Feb, 24, 2021. His conviction and sentence were upheld by the Court of Appeal on Oct 12, 2021.
Capital punishment is imposed only for the most serious crimes, such as the importation or trafficking of significant quantities of drugs.
Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the offence of importation of more than 500g of cannabis is punishable with the death penalty.
The cannabis seized from Omar is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 144 abusers for a week.
Omar had claimed that he was threatened by officers and that he did not know the nature of the bundles found in a bag in his car when it was checked by an auxiliary police officer at Woodlands Checkpoint.
The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said in a statement on April 16 that it is aware several allegations have been made in relation to Omar’s case.
Omar had driven a car from Malaysia to the checkpoint on July 12, 2018. A routine check on the car uncovered a bag belonging to him.
Three bundles wrapped in aluminium foil, cling wrap and newspaper were found inside the bag, said CNB in its statement.
The bundles sent to the Health Sciences Authority for analysis were found to contain not less than 1,009.1g of cannabis.
At his trial, Omar claimed that he did not know the nature of the bundles found in the car.
He also alleged that an officer had threatened to slap him if he did not confess to owning the bundles, and that another officer had threatened to throw a pen at him and to hang both Omar and his father if he refused to cooperate.
Nevertheless, the High Court found that Omar’s accounts were unreliable. Several officers, who were present at the time of recording Omar’s statements, gave mutually corroborative accounts that were supported by CCTV footage.
The High Court was of the view that Omar knew the nature of the bundles, and that he had intentionally brought them into Singapore.
Omar appealed against his conviction and sentence. But the Court of Appeal was satisfied the High Court had examined the evidence carefully and saw no basis to interfere with the High Court’s decision.
Following the dismissal of his appeal, Omar was involved in four post-appeal applications, which were all dismissed or resolved. He was then notified of the date of his execution.
Omar filed a legal application to commence a review application against the Court of Appeal’s decision in his appeal against his conviction and sentence. But like the other outcomes, it, too, was dismissed.
His petitions to the President for clemency were also unsuccessful. -- The Straits Times/ANN
