Death penalty for non-violent drug offences

In a recent opinion article, Lex Lasry reports the case of Mr Van Nguyen, an Australian citizen, who in 2005 was hanged in Singapore’s Changi Prison for carrying 396 grams of poorly concealed heroin from Phnom Penh.

Lex Lasry reports that despite a growing worldwide trend away from the death penalty for drugs, Singapore continues to impose the death penalty for non-violent drug offences. He highlights the contrast between sentences as follows:

Fifteen grams of pure heroin is enough to attract the mandatory death penalty in Singapore.

In Victoria, the commercial quantity for pure heroin is 50 grams. The median sentence for trafficking in a commercial quantity of drugs is four years and nine months jail, while the median non-parole period is three years.

Mr Lasry further goes on to highlight that prisoners have had to represent themselves, requiring the advocacy and representation of foreign lawyers:

in Australia the Capital Punishment Justice Project and Eleos Justice at Monash University are focused on restricting and abolishing the death penalty in Asia, where 90 percent of the world’s executions occur in that region.

You can read the full article here