Singapore is waging a war against drugs; death penalty an effective deterrent: Shanmugam

Source: The Straits Times
Author: David Sun, Christine Tan

SINGAPORE - Singapore is waging a war against drugs, and thousands will suffer if the country does not put up a fight or loses the war, said Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam.

Delivering a ministerial statement in Parliament on May 8 on Singapore's drug control approach, he cited several drug-related crimes here that resulted in the deaths of people at the hands of their loved ones who had abused drugs.

Quoting statistics from the World Health Organisation and World Drug Report on the lives lost to drug use, Mr Shanmugam said: "These are not just statistics, they are the lives of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters.

"That is why I use the analogy of war. I am talking about a war against those who profit off the drug trade at the expense of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives."

Mr Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Law, said he was delivering the ministerial statement as Singapore's drug control policy has been criticised by individuals helping inmates to abuse the legal process.

In 2019, Singapore changed its policy towards drug abusers. Now, those who only abuse drugs without committing other offences are sent for treatment and do not get a criminal record.

But while Singapore tries to help abusers, it takes a tough stance against drug traffickers, said Mr Shanmugam.

He said: "We have zero tolerance for those who destroy the lives of others for money."

In the 51-minute statement, the minister painted a grim picture of how the drug trade has affected the security and lives of citizens in countries such as the United States, Sweden, and Belgium.

He said in the last decade, there have been hundreds of shootings, fires and bombings in Antwerp, Belgium, many of which were linked to gang-related violence for a piece of the cocaine trade.

Citing examples of how relaxed drug possession laws in San Francisco and Oregon led to higher drug overdose deaths, Mr Shanmugam said such policies have a long-term impact on the next generation.

That's why the death penalty is an effective deterrent in the war against drugs, said Mr Shanmugam.

After it was introduced for trafficking more than 1.2kg of opium in 1990, there was a 66 per cent reduction in the average net weight of opium trafficked in the four years that followed.

He said it is not easy for policymakers to decide to have capital punishment.

"But the evidence shows that it is necessary to protect our people, prevent the destruction of thousands of families, and prevent the loss of thousands of lives," he said.