According to Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act, being found in possession of 15g of heroin, or 500g of cannabis, is enough for one to be presumed to be trafficking. A man in Singapore was recently sentenced to death by hanging via Zoom call, marking the second time the death penalty has been issued virtually.

Since 2008, the UN General Assembly has been debating on a call for a moratorium (i.e. “Singapore’s use of the death penalty is inherently cruel and inhumane, and the use of remote technology like Zoom to sentence a man to death makes it even more so,” said Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Singapore.It is applied in practice mainly for murder and drug-related crimes, and executions are carried out by hanging.. The willingness of 106 countries to abolish the death penalty for all crimes further urges Singapore to abolish the death penalty as well. Responding to news that a court in Singapore has sentenced a man to death via Zoom video call, Amnesty International’s death penalty advisor, Chiara Sangiorgio, said: “Whether via Zoom or in person, a death sentence is always cruel and inhumane. If found guilty, the penalty is death, unless you fulfil specific criteria which would allow a judge to sentence you to life imprisonment, plus caning (judicial corporal punishment).