Roop Dhillon
Prime VIP
SINGAPORE : Convicted Australian drug trafficker Nguyen Tuong Van was hanged on Friday at Changi Prison.
"The sentence was carried out this morning at Changi Prison," Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry said in a brief statement.
The 25-year-old man had been convicted of importing 400 grams (396.2g) of heroin, which was meant for Australia.
He was arrested in December 2002 at Changi Airport, just before he was to board a plane for Melbourne, some four hours after he had arrived from Phnom Penh.
In its statement, the Home Affairs Ministry reiterated that the death penalty is mandatory under the Misuse of Drugs Act for anyone who imports more than 15 grams of heroin into the country.
The amount smuggled by Nguyen was enough to supply 26,000 doses of heroin to drug addicts and had a street value of some S$1.3 million.
Singapore has made it clear it will not allow the country to be used as a transit point for drug traffickers.
Nguyen, who was sentenced to death in March 2004, had failed in his appeals to the Court of Appeal and to President SR Nathan for clemency.
The previous day, he was allowed to hold hands with his mother and brother when they visited him in jail.
Like many jurisdictions that authorise capital punishment, Singapore does not allow contact visits between prisoners and family members.
However, after considering a personal appeal made by Australian Prime Minister John Howard to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and also the advice of the Prisons Department, the government agreed to make an exception and allow limited physical contact.
"The sentence was carried out this morning at Changi Prison," Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry said in a brief statement.
The 25-year-old man had been convicted of importing 400 grams (396.2g) of heroin, which was meant for Australia.
He was arrested in December 2002 at Changi Airport, just before he was to board a plane for Melbourne, some four hours after he had arrived from Phnom Penh.
In its statement, the Home Affairs Ministry reiterated that the death penalty is mandatory under the Misuse of Drugs Act for anyone who imports more than 15 grams of heroin into the country.
The amount smuggled by Nguyen was enough to supply 26,000 doses of heroin to drug addicts and had a street value of some S$1.3 million.
Singapore has made it clear it will not allow the country to be used as a transit point for drug traffickers.
Nguyen, who was sentenced to death in March 2004, had failed in his appeals to the Court of Appeal and to President SR Nathan for clemency.
The previous day, he was allowed to hold hands with his mother and brother when they visited him in jail.
Like many jurisdictions that authorise capital punishment, Singapore does not allow contact visits between prisoners and family members.
However, after considering a personal appeal made by Australian Prime Minister John Howard to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and also the advice of the Prisons Department, the government agreed to make an exception and allow limited physical contact.