Singapore executes man convicted of importing 1 kg of cannabis, despite international pressure

Singapore executed’Omar Yacob Bamadhaj, a 46-year-old Singaporean national convicted of importing over a kilogram of cannabis, despite last-minute appeals from leading human rights organizations urging the government to suspend the hanging.

Omar was executed on April 16, according to a press release from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) Singapore. He had been arrested in July 2018 after authorities discovered 1,009 grams of cannabis during a routine check at the Woodlands border post, the main crossing point between Singapore and Malaysia.

This case has once again drawn international attention to the Singapore's persistent use of the death penalty for drug-related offences, at a time when in many jurisdictions around the world are moving towards decriminalization or legal regulation of cannabis.

Mandatory death penalty under Singapore's drug laws

Omar was sentenced in February 2021 for a crime punishable by capital punishment under the drug abuse law of Singapore, which provides for the death penalty for importing more than 500 grams of cannabis. His conviction and sentence were confirmed by the Court of Appeal in October 2021.

Singaporean authorities claim that capital punishment is reserved only for the most serious drug crimes. The CNB said that the quantity seized in Omar's case was enough to satisfy the addiction of ’around 144 consumers for a week«.

According to CNB, Omar entered Singapore by car from Malaysia on July 12, 2018. A bag found in his car contained three packages wrapped in aluminum foil, cling film and newspaper. An analysis carried out by Health Sciences Authority confirmed that the weight of the cannabis was at least 1,009.1 grams.

Omar denied any knowledge of the drug's presence

During his trial, Omar claimed that he was unaware of the nature of the packages. He also alleged that investigators had threatened him, claiming in particular that one agent had told him he would slap him if he didn't confess, and another had threatened to throw a pen at him and hang Omar and his father if he refused to cooperate.

The Singapore High Court rejected these allegations, calling his statements unreliable. The officers involved provided corroborating statements, and the court cited CCTV footage supporting their testimony. The High Court concluded that Omar had knowingly imported the cannabis, a finding later upheld by the Court of Appeal.

After losing his appeal, Omar filed several post-appeal motions, including an attempt to obtain a review of the appeal decision. All were either rejected or dismissed. His requests for a presidential pardon were also rejected.

Human rights organizations urge Singapore to suspend hanging

The execution took place one day after a joint statement by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, from Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP) and the’Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) urged Singapore to suspend hanging and grant clemency.

«The death penalty is the most cruel, inhuman and degrading form of punishment,» said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Southeast Asia researcher at Amnesty International. «Singapore's retention of the death penalty for drug-related offences is a violation of international human rights law and international standards, and increasingly places this city-state out of step with the rest of the world on this issue.»

The organizations reported that Omar's family had been informed on April 2 that he would be executed two weeks later. His wife, Alexandra Maria, a German national, is said to have written to the President's office Tharman Shanmugaratnam on April 12 to ask for clemency.

The family situation highlighted in the leniency application

According to the joint statement, Omar was living in Germany at the time of his arrest and had returned to Singapore to spend Ramadan with relatives. His wife and children remained in Germany.

The groups said that financial difficulties and health problems had prevented the family from visiting him in prison, and that his son Naqeeb died in November 2025 at the age of 11.

«Omar and his family have already endured unimaginable suffering since his incarceration in 2018,» said ADPAN coordinator Karen Gomez-Dumpit. «Executing him now would only compound that pain and deprive his daughter of the opportunity to truly know her father.»

Increase in the number of executions in 2026

The organizations also pointed to a sharp rise in the number of executions. They reported that Singapore had executed seven people since January 1, 2026, all for drug-related offenses, following 15 executions in 2025. They also pointed out that international human rights standards limit the death penalty to «the most serious crimes», which, according to UN experts, do not include drug-related offenses.

«While neighboring Asian countries have taken major steps in recent years to reduce their use of capital punishment, Singapore seems determined to continue applying it and to step up executions,» said Jacinta Smith, President of the CPJP.

Human rights organizations pointed to a precedent of clemency dating back to August 2025, when President Shanmugaratnam commuted the death sentence of Tristan Tan Yi Rui to life imprisonment. But in Omar's case, Singapore carried out the execution.