Malaysian national Punithan Genasan, 37, was convicted on Friday of complicity in heroin trafficking in 2011.

The death penalty is mandatory for most drug trafficking offenders under Singapore law, according to SingaporeLegalAdvice.com.

Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International’s death penalty advisor, said: “Whether via Zoom or in person, a death sentence is always cruel and inhumane.

“This case is another reminder that Singapore continues to defy international law and standards by imposing the death penalty for drug trafficking, and as a mandatory punishment.

“This must end now. Singapore is only one of four countries known to still execute people for drug-related offences, according to Amnesty International research. It is high time the government reviewed its draconian approach and abolished the death penalty once and for all.

“At a time when the global attention is focused on saving and protecting lives in a pandemic, the pursuit of the death penalty is all the more abhorrent.”