SINGAPORE: The Singapore parliament has passed legal reforms abolishing mandatory death sentences in some drug trafficking and murder cases, giving fresh hope to dozens of inmates awaiting execution.
In a statement issued late Wednesday, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said parliament had formally approved amendments enabling judges to commute death sentences to life imprisonment under certain conditions.
Human rights groups have called for the abolition of capital punishment -- carried out by hanging since British colonial rule -- but the government says death sentences for the most serious cases will remain as a deterrent.
“We’re glad that they’ve done this. It breaks the lockstep mentality of the government of Singapore to favour the mandatory death penalty,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said.
“But this is just the first step in a long journey and there needs to be a lot more done before Singapore can say it is a rights-respecting government,” he said.
Before the reforms, judges had no choice but to impose the death penalty on anyone convicted of murder or trafficking in drugs above specific volumes.
Judges now have discretion to impose life imprisonment on a person convicted of murder if that individual “is not found to have intended to cause death”, the AGC said.
AFP
