SINGAPORE EXECUTES THREE MEN FOR DRUG OFFENCES OVER TWO DAYS

December 1, 2025:

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences on 26 and 27 November 2025, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003.
A 53 year-old Singaporean man was executed on 26 November, while Mohammad Rizwan bin Akbar Husain (“Rizwan”) and Saminathan Selvaraju (“Saminathan”) were put to death on 27 November.
Rizwan and Saminathan were jointly tried with a third offender, Zulkarnain bin Kemat (“Zulkarnain”).
Rizwan, a 44-year-old Singaporean, was convicted of abetment of trafficking, by instigating Zulkarnain to be in possession of not less than 301.6 grammes of diamorphine, or pure heroin, for the purpose of trafficking.
Saminathan, a 42-year-old Malaysian, was convicted of trafficking the diamorphine by delivering it to Zulkarnain.
The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine trafficked is more than 15 grammes.
Rizwan and Saminathan were convicted and sentenced to capital punishment on 12 March 2018.
They appealed against their convictions and sentences.
The Court of Appeal dismissed their appeals on 8 May 2020.
Rizwan and Saminathan’s petitions to the President for clemency were unsuccessful.
Some parties have questioned whether Saminathan was formally notified of his execution date. Prisoners Awaiting Capital Punishment (“PACPs”) are notified of their scheduled execution date by the Superintendent of the Institution in person.
A letter is provided to the PACP's next of kin to convey the same information and also the visit arrangements and contact details of the prison officers to whom the family could reach out.
In Saminathan's case, he was notified on 20 November 2025 of his scheduled execution date. Saminathan had stated this in his affidavit filed on 21 November 2025 for the purposes of his Post-Appeal Application in a Capital Case, CA/OAC 3/2025, for a stay of execution. The application was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 26 November 2025.
Zulkarnain was convicted of a drug offence in 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment and caning, not death.He received a life sentence because he was deemed a mere courier and provided a certificate of substantive assistance to the authorities.
(Sources: Central Narcotics Bureau, 27/11/2025; Bbc, 31/11/2025; eeas.europa.eu, 28/11/2025)