Singaporean, 46, convicted of importing over 1kg of cannabis in 2018 hanged

A 46-year-old Singaporean man, who was convicted in February 2021 for importing more than 1kg of cannabis into Singapore in July 2018, was hanged on Thursday (April 16).

Omar Yacob Bamadhaj was convicted on Feb 24, 2021, and had his conviction and sentence upheld by the Court of Appeal on Oct 12, 2021.

In a statement on Thursday, the Central Narcotics Bureau said Omar was accorded full due process under the law, and was represented by legal counsel during his trial and appeal.

He entered Singapore from Malaysia via Woodlands Checkpoint by car on July 12, 2018.

During a routine check, an auxiliary officer found three bundles wrapped in aluminium foil, cling wrap and newspapers.

The bundles were placed in a bag belonging to him. They were later sent to the Health Sciences Authority for analysis and were found to contain not less than 1,009.1g of cannabis.

At the trial, Omar claimed that he did not know the nature of the bundles found in the car. 

He also alleged that an officer had threatened to slap him if he did not confess to owning the bundle, and that another officer had threatened to throw a pen at him and to hang both Omar and his father if he refused to cooperate.

However, the High Court judge found several material inconsistencies in Omar's testimony. His accounts were also found to be not reliable.

The High Court also noted that officers present during the recording of Omar's statements gave mutually collaborative accounts which were supported by closed circuit television (CCTV) footage.

It was of the view that Omar knew the nature of the bundles and that he had deliberately brought them into Singapore. He was then convicted of the importation charge.

Omar went on to appeal against his conviction and sentence but the Court of Appeal found no basis to interfere with the High Court's decision after a careful examination of the evidence.

He was then involved in four post-appeal applications which were eventually dismissed or resolved.

Omar was then notified of the date of his execution.

Following the notification, Omar filed a legal application to commence a review application against the Court of Appeal's decision in his appeal against his conviction and sentence. This, too, was dismissed.

His subsequent petitions to the President for clemency were also unsuccessful.

In Singapore, capital punishment is imposed for the most serious crimes, such as the importing or trafficking of significant quantities of drugs which can cause serious harm to individual drug users, their families, and the wider society. 

The offence of importation of more than 500g of cannabis is punishable with the death penalty. In Omar's case, the amount of cannabis could have fed the addiction of 144 abusers for a week.

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editor@asiaone.com 

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