Two drug traffickers were hanged on Thursday July 7 in Singapore, bringing to four the number of executions in the city-state since March, the prison services announced.
The two convicts, a 48-year-old Singaporean and a 31-year-old Malaysian, were convicted of heroin trafficking in the same case in 2016.
Executions resumed in March
The Malaysian convict had attempted a last chance appeal on Wednesday, but it was rejected by the Singapore justice.
After a two-year hiatus, Singaporean authorities resumed executions of death row inmates in March, with the hanging of a Singaporean drug trafficker.
The following month, the execution of a mentally handicapped Malaysian, also convicted of heroin trafficking, raised an international outcry.
The application of the death penalty in Singapore constitutes "
a flagrant violation of human rights
", denounced Emerlynne Gil, an official of Amnesty International for Asia.
She urged the Singaporean government to "
end this shameful and inhumane punishment
".
Read alsoThe UN urges Singapore to cancel the execution of two men
In a recent BBC interview, Singapore's Home Affairs and Justice Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam defended the use of the death penalty, saying that there is "
clear evidence that it is a serious deterrent to potential drug traffickers
”.