A 45-year-old Singaporean woman was executed on July 28, 2023, for drug trafficking, marking the first female execution in Singapore since 2004. The C
A 45-year-old Singaporean woman was executed on July 28, 2023, for drug trafficking, marking the first female execution in Singapore since 2004. The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) confirmed that Saridewi binte Djamani’s capital sentence was carried out on the same day.
Saridewi is the first woman to be executed in Singapore since Yen May Woen was hanged on March 19, 2004, for possessing 30.16g of diamorphine (heroin). During her trial, Saridewi was convicted on July 6, 2018, for possessing 30.72g of heroin, discovered during a CNB operation on June 17, 2016.
The court found that Saridewi had received the drugs as part of a transaction and had previously attempted to dispose of evidence when she realized officers were closing in on her. Despite her claims that she intended to use some of the heroin for personal consumption, the law presumes that anyone possessing more than 2g of heroin is doing so for trafficking purposes.
Saridewi’s defense team argued that she was suffering from drug withdrawal symptoms and mental health issues at the time of her arrest. However, the court rejected these claims and maintained that Saridewi was aware of her actions and the nature of the drugs she possessed.
Following her execution, the CNB stated that Saridewi was afforded full due process under the law throughout her legal proceedings.
In a related incident, a 57-year-old man, Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, was executed two days prior for possessing 49.98g of heroin. His case involved the seizure of drugs from his vehicle during a CNB operation, and like Saridewi, he was also denied clemency after his appeals.
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