PETALING JAYA: A human rights group has welcomed Singapore President Halimah Yacob’s decision to grant a respite to two drug traffickers, including a Malaysian.
In a statement released today, the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (Adpan) called on the republic’s government to commute the sentences of Singaporean Roslan Bakar and Malaysian Pausi Jefridin, considering their vulnerabilities as persons with borderline intellectual functioning.
Adpan urged the Singapore government to impose a moratorium on executions and to review the use of the death penalty.
The rights group said international law and norms limit the use of the death penalty only to crimes of the most serious nature.
“The death penalty has not been proven to be an effective means of deterrence,” said the rights group.