The sentence was derived from a Malaysian citizen accused of drug trafficking • The defendant's lawyer did not object: "There was only reading of the sentence"

• Supreme Court in Singapore // Photo: AP

The Singapore court, which is in long custody following a major outbreak of the country's corona epidemic, sentenced a defendant to a drug deal and a death sentence in direct zoom. The Supreme Court's sentence was given to Panithan Jensan, 37, a Malaysian citizen arrested for a drug deal in 2011. This is the first time, according to a Singapore court spokeswoman, that sentencing was given in this manner, according to the spokesman, who was interviewed by the agency Reuters, "The entire state is quarantined and so as not to jeopardize any of the participants in the hearing it has been decided to creatively execute the trial."

Jensen's lawyer, Peter Fernando, said his client received the sentence, and that he is now considering appealing him to a higher court. The lawyer also did not object to the way the sentence was granted, in contrast to the very harsh criticism from corporate Human rights, saying that "there was no legal process here at all, but only the sentencing of the judge. This is the last court session and there was no need for the parties to make any claims. So the fact that my client heard the sentence well enough was enough for us. "

In parallel with Reuters' appeal to the Singapore judiciary, the agency also contacted the World Zoom Company to receive its response to the controversial use of its technology. So far, the company has not responded to this request.

In Singapore itself, the judiciary, like the entire country, explained that it was down and closed from the beginning of April to the first of June, so cases of importance or urgency were discussed using the zoom method without having to meet. It should be noted that Singapore has zero tolerance for drug trafficking and the country punishes it with the utmost severity, including frequent executions of Singaporean and foreign nationals.

In response to the decision, Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, said "Singapore's use of capital punishment is inherently cruel and inhumane, but using remote technology like zoom to cut capital punishment makes it much more terrible." The organization also recently criticized a Nigerian court when it sentenced a death sentence to a defendant in this way.