Drug trafficker executed

A DRUG trafficker at the centre of a high-profile campaign to end the death penalty here was executed yesterday despite the appeals of his teenage twin sons and his lawyer's pleas that it was a denial of “natural justice.” 

Shanmugam Murugesu, 38, who was convicted of trying to import 1,029.8gm of cannabis through a checkpoint from Malaysia, was hanged at 6am, his lawyer, M. Ravi said.  

“Friday the 13th is a black day for Singapore. It only shows revenge, it's a cold blooded murder,” Ravi said. 

Ravi, civic rights group the Think Centre, a small group of opposition politicians and Shanmugam's family waged a sustained campaign to save him, arguing “defects” in the law and many other mitigating factors that they say should have prevented him from being executed. 

FINAL VIGIL: Gopalan (left) and Krishnan praying on Thursday night at the family altar after havingexhausted all avenues to prevent their father from being hanged for drug trafficking. — APpic

They cited six other cases of people arrested with similar amounts of marijuana avoiding the gallows, Shanmugam's offers to help track the “Mr Big” behind the operation and his financial desperation that led him to the crime. 

Shanmugam's 14-year-old sons, Gopalan and Krishnan, went public with their appeal to save their father, distributing pamphlets in the busy Orchard Road shopping district to help raise awareness about his plight. 

“He's in the wrong, but killing him is not the correct decision. Only God can give life and take life,” Gopalan said.  

The campaign, which also involved an online petition, two appeals to President S.R. Nathan and prayer vigils outside Shanmugam's home, was a rare show of public dissent against any government policy in this tightly controlled city-state. 

The country's strict drug laws carry a mandatory death sentence for anyone possessing more than 500gm of marijuana or 15gm of heroin.  

Amnesty International said in a report last year that the city-state had the highest execution rate in the world per capita, ahead of Saudi Arabia, Belarus and Sierra Leone, with most hanged for drug crimes. 

Amnesty said more than 400 people had been executed here between 1991 and 2003, which it described as a “shocking number” for a nation of just over four million people. 

The government remained firm on the death penalty during the Shanmugam controversy, with the Home Affairs Ministry giving a detailed defence of its policy.  

“The Singapore Government has in place a transparent law and order system for the safety and security of its citizens, residents and those who visit,” the ministry said.  

“The death penalty is imposed for the most serious of crimes. It is part of a range of punishments which has helped to keep crime rates and drug abuse rates low.” 

Despite Shanmugam's death, Ravi said the campaign to save him had not been a waste of time because it had raised public awareness about capital punishment. – AFP