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Singapore’s drug laws are severe. The penalties for trafficking illegal narcotics range from a prison term to execution. The government argues its zero-tolerance policy towards drugs, including cannabis, is an effective deterrent to those tempted to get involved in this illicit trade. Since March 2022, when executions resumed in Singapore after Covid, twenty people have been hanged – all but one of them for drug-related offences. In the second of a two-part series, Linda Pressly explores how the law on trafficking is applied, meets the sister of a man who was hanged after a heroin conviction, and learns that it is also illegal for a Singaporean to consume drugs overseas.

Producer/presenter: Linda Pressly
Producer in Singapore: Reeta Raman
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy

(Photo: Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, is an advocate for his nation’s application of the death penalty in drug trafficking cases. Credit: Singapore MHA)