Singapore hangs Shanmugam Murugesu for importing one kilogram of cannabis
Shanmugam s/o Murugesu, 38, was hanged at 6 a.m. on 13 May 2005 for importing 1,029.8 grams of cannabis through the Tuas Checkpoint in August 2003. His clemency plea failed and his lawyer's last-minute stay application was rejected.
Shanmugam s/o Murugesu, aged 38, was executed at 6 a.m. on 13 May 2005 at Changi Prison.[1]He
had been sentenced to death after importing 1,029.8 grams of cannabis at the Tuas Checkpoint on 29
August 2003.[2]Amnesty International said he was hanged despite a sustained public campaign and
that authorities rejected his lawyer’s application on 11 May to stay the execution and convene a
Constitutional Court review.[1]
Mandatory sentence
Under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act, importing more than 500 grams of cannabis carries a mandatory
death penalty.[3]Immigration officers found six packets of cannabis in his motorcycle when he
entered from Johor; the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction in January 2005 after he admitted in
recorded statements that he knew he was carrying the drugs for payment.[2]President S.R. Nathan
rejected a clemency petition before the hanging.[3]
Family and protest
Murugesu’s 14-year-old twin sons, Gopalan and Krishnan, appealed publicly for his life, and civic
groups held vigils and an online petition.[3]Lawyer M. Ravi called the execution a “cold blooded
murder” but said the campaign had raised awareness of capital punishment.[3]Amnesty International
described the case as rare public dissent against government policy in Singapore.[1]The Home
Affairs Ministry defended the death penalty as part of a system that kept drug abuse rates low.[3]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Amnesty International said at least eight other prisoners were thought to be on death row when Murugesu was hanged; Singapore does not publish official death-row statistics.
The Star reported his lawyer M. Ravi citing six other cannabis cases where charges were reduced and defendants avoided execution; the opened sources do not name those cases or compare them in detail.
The Court of Appeal judgment records Murugesu's twin sons and financial pressures but the execution reports do not say who will raise the children after his death.
Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj, 46, was executed for importing 1,009 grams of cannabis. The court found he had only carried the drugs, but Singapore's law left the judge no sentence other than death.
Muhammad Faizal bin Mohd Shariff, 36, was hanged at dawn on 17 May 2023 for possessing 1,562.97 grams of cannabis for trafficking, found in a Pasir Ris condominium after his landlady handed a bag to security. The Court of Appeal dismissed a last-minute review bid the day before.
Tangaraju s/o Suppiah, 46, was hanged at dawn on 26 April 2023 for abetting the trafficking of 1,017.9 grams of cannabis in 2013. He was not caught with the drugs; the court relied on phone evidence that he had coordinated the delivery.
Fazali bin Mohamed was hanged on 26 July 2022 for trafficking at least 1,838.8 grams of cannabis and 2,775.34 grams of cannabis mixture found in his flat at Block 55 Sims Drive in March 2015. Authorities did not name him publicly when announcing the execution.
