Singapore executes 15th inmate, matching 2025 execution record

Singapore authorities executed a 35-year-old citizen on Thursday for drug trafficking, bringing the total number of executions this year to 15. This figure matches the record set in 2025, when the city-state confirmed 15 executions. The latest case involved a man whose clemency appeals to the president were denied.

The Singaporean anti-narcotics agency stated that the condemned man received due process and legal representation throughout his trial and appeals. The agency emphasized that capital punishment is reserved for the most serious offenses, such as trafficking significant drug quantities that inflict severe harm on individuals and society.

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The death penalty is imposed only for the most serious offenses, such as trafficking significant quantities of drugs that cause very serious harm, not only to consumers but also to their families and society in general.

Singapore enforces some of the world's strictest anti-drug laws. The death penalty is mandated for trafficking as little as 500 grams of marijuana or 15 grams of heroin. Non-governmental organizations and activists have frequently criticized the procedures surrounding these executions, labeling them as opaque.

The number of hangings has surged in recent years. In 2025, authorities confirmed 15 executions, though NGOs report 17. This surpasses the previous record of 13 in 2003, according to groups like Amnesty International. So far in 2026, 12 Singaporean citizens and three Malaysians, aged between 32 and 65, have been executed in the country. The identities of most executed individuals remain undisclosed.

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He was guaranteed due process and had legal representation during the trial and appeal.