Singapore executes man for trafficking cannabis 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Singapore executed a 46-year-old man Wednesday after he was accused of coordinating a roughly two-pound marijuana delivery, despite pleas for clemency and protests that he was convicted on weak evidence.

Tangaraju Suppiah was hanged during the early morning hours in Changi Prison, Singapore Prison Service said in a statement to multiple outlets.

Despite not being caught with the drugs, Tangaraju was found guilty and sentenced to death in October 2018 for abetting the trafficking of 2.2 pounds of cannabis. Prosecutors in the Asian island-state said he conspired with another man to deliver the marijuana.

Tangaraju maintained he was innocent, his sister told CNN.

“Even from inside prison, he wanted to fight for his innocence,” Leelavathy Suppiah told the outlet. “He believed that there would be a fair trial and wanted to prove his innocence – every step of the way.”

Trafficking more than 1.2 pounds of marijuana is grounds for the death penalty, under Singaporean law.

According to a tweet from activist Kirsten Han of the Transformative Justice Collective, which advocates abolishing the death penalty in Singapore, Tangaraju's family was given the death certificate after the morning hanging.

An application filed Monday by Tangaraju for a stay of execution was dismissed by a local court without an oral hearing, the group reported.

Attempts by family and activists to push Singapore President Halimah Yacob to grant the man clemency were unsuccessful.