😱 Singapore’s First Female Execution in 20 Years: Progress or Backward Step?
TL;DR; 🇸🇬 Saridewi Djamani, the first woman to face the gallows in Singapore since 2004, got executed for drug trafficking. This comes amidst heated debates on the death penalty’s effectiveness and concerns from global human rights groups. ⚖️🌏
In the glitzy and modern landscape of Singapore, an old and chilling wind blew with the execution of Saridewi Djamani. A whopping 20 years have passed since the last woman faced the noose in the city-state, which had many question: Are we moving forward or retracing dark paths? 😕
First, let’s dish the facts 📜. Saridewi, a 45-year-old Singaporean national, was caught up in the crosshairs of the law back in 2018 for trafficking approximately 30g of heroin. 🚫💉 For those not deep into drug measurements, that’s not exactly an empire of narcotics, but Singapore isn’t playing around when it comes to drugs.
The last woman in a similar predicament? Yen May Woen, a hairdresser. She was also convicted for drug trafficking back in 2004. Remember her? Probably not, and that’s the thing about the death penalty – the stories often fade, but the debates? They never die.
While Saridewi did argue that she wasn’t in the right frame of mind due to drug withdrawal during her statement to the police, the court wasn’t having it. 😑 A judge weighed in stating her withdrawal was only “mild to moderate”. But who gets to define the spectrum of withdrawal? 🤷
Saridewi’s fate wasn’t an isolated incident. This week, Singapore has been on a roll, with a total of two hangings, making it 15 since they got back into the execution business in March 2022. Whoa! Talk about making up for lost time. ⏰
Global human rights groups like Amnesty International are SHOOK. 💥 They have been screaming into the void, asking Singapore to put on the brakes. With arguments ranging from the death penalty not being an effective deterrent to it being a gross violation of human rights, it’s clear that the world is watching… and it’s not liking what it’s seeing.
On the flip side, Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has stuck to its guns, touting the death penalty as an essential tool in keeping the city safe. Their take? It’s all about safeguarding society from the grim reaper of drug-related crimes. 😇 vs. 💀
But here’s where it gets really spicy 🌶️. There’s another dude, a former delivery driver, who’s set for execution next week. His crime? Trafficking about 50g of heroin. His defense? He thought he was moving contraband cigarettes. Mmm…smoky.
And get this. As a ‘kind gesture’, prisoners on death row in Singapore can have a photoshoot just days before their execution. Um, parting gift? 📸🎁
To cap it all off, let’s sprinkle in some words from Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. He thinks Singapore is just trying to get through their death row backlog post-pandemic. Like they’re catching up on a Netflix series… but way more intense. 📺🔥
So, is the death penalty an effective deterrent, or are we just caught up in an outdated, punitive approach? 🤔
Food for thought: Are we as a society evolving towards more compassionate justice, or do some believe that some crimes warrant the ultimate price? What do YOU think? 🧐🗣️
