In a highly debatable action, an Indian-origin man named Tangaraju Suppiah was executed by Singaporean authorities for aiding smugglers to conceal little more than 1 Kg of cannabis on Wednesday. The execution of 46-year-old Tangaraju Suppiah has irked a controversy around the world with the global media slamming the Singaporean government for executing an Indian-origin man at a time when multiple countries around the world are legalizing marijuana. Notably, Tangaraju Suppiah's capital punishment was opposed by right-wing groups, many activists, and even the United Nations, however, the Singaporean authorities did not bow down and went on with its capital punishment. With the Indian-origin man executed, people worldwide are now wondering who was Tangaraju Suppiah and what exactly he did that he was hanged to death. To know the answer continue reading-
Who was Tangaraju Suppiah?
In 2018, Tangaraju Suppiah was given the death penalty in a controversial decision for his involvement in the attempt to smuggle marijuana weighing just over a kilogramme- 1,017.9 grammes to be exact. Notably, the Singaporean had found that Tangaraju Suppiah had the phone number of the drug traffickers who tried to smuggle in drugs into the country. Tangaraju Suppiah was arrested after the authorities caught the drug traffickers. As per reports, Tangaraju Suppiah's family and activists opposing his death penalty even stated that his case was mishandled and the Indian-origin man did not even get proper legal representation. Ironically, Tangaraju Suppiah was the only one in the case who was given the death penalty and executed despite the fact that there was no drug found in his possession. Not only this but Tangaraju Suppiah was also denied a Tamil interpreter while he was the subject of the police investigation.
Canada federal workers protest explained: Why 155,000 people are demanding work-from-home guarantee?
Tangaraju's plea to Singaporean President Halimah Yacob
Notably, after the Indian-origin man was given the death penalty, Tangaraju’s family handed President Halimah Yacob of Singapore thousands of letters pleading for mercy. However, ultimately those mercy letters did not bear any fruit. Tangaraju's family never heard back from the President of Singapore. As per reports, multiple activists even a British national entrepreneur begged for Tangaraju's execution to be put on hold. In 2019, Tangaraju filed an appeal against his conviction, but Singapore’s Court of Appeal dismissed it. Even in 2022, Tangaraju again appealed in the court to have his case review, however, not even a single lawyer took his case and as a result, he was forced to represent himself in the court.
Notably, Singapore has adhered to zero-drug policy law, and under this, in the year 2022 the country executed 11 drug offenders, The execution of low-level drug traffickers seems to be highly debatable as its neighbor countries like Thailand and Malaysia have eased its drug policy.