Convicted Malaysian drug trafficker Abd Helmi Bin Ab Halim was executed at Changi Prison Complex on Nov. 22, after his petition to the President for clemency was rejected in July 2019.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Law (MinLaw) issued a joint statement on Nov.22, where it stated that Singapore's laws apply equally to all, regardless of the offender's nationality.

"Foreigners who choose to break our laws must be prepared to be subject to them and cannot expect any differentiated treatment," the joint statement stated.

MHA and MinLaw said that Malaysia can help in the fight against drugs by aggressively rooting out drug kingpins in Malaysia who send drug traffickers from Malaysia to Singapore, and preventing people from being recruited for drug trafficking.

MHA and MinLaw added that this will help save the lives of Malaysians.

According to MHA and MinLaw, the use of capital punishment is a sovereign right, and there is no international consensus on the use of the death penalty.

MHA and MinLaw said that the death penalty is an important component of Singapore's anti-drug strategy, and that it has been an effective deterrent, as Singapore is one of the few countries where drug trafficking has been contained.

"Singapore respects the sovereign right of other countries to determine their own legal systems, and expects the same in return," said MHA and MinLaw.

The joint statement was made in response to a statement by Malaysia on Nov. 20, where it argued that drug traffickers should be sentenced to no more than imprisonment, and asked for mercy for the convicted drug trafficker.

Malaysia issued a statement two days before the execution

According to Bernama, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong urged Singapore to show mercy on the Malaysian citizen, in an official statement made on Nov. 20.

He highlighted that Malaysia imposed a strict moratorium on all executions in Malaysia for drug trafficking crimes, pending a comprehensive review, and claimed that this was in line with established international standards.

"It is therefore heart-wrenching to see a fellow citizen to be executed for circumstances entirely uncompelling, given the close proximity of our countries," he said.

Liew argued that drug trafficking kingpins should be the ones to face the full brunt of the law, in order to eradicate drug trafficking.

He also said that although drug mules are offenders, the offence itself warrants no more than imprisonment.

Liew stated that it was "unjust and disproportionate" for drug mules to be sentenced to death, according to Bernama.

Malaysian human rights group claims Singapore is biased against Malaysian traffickers

Malaysian human rights group Lawyers for Liberty issued a statement on Nov. 19, claiming that "it is highly improbable that our citizen Helmi received a fair trial in Singapore."

According to Lawyers for Liberty, Helmi had consistently denied any knowledge of the drugs he was alleged to have been carrying.

The group noted that in Singapore, an unusually high proportion of those charged for drug trafficking are eventually convicted, suggesting that Singapore's legal system is biased against the accused in drug trafficking cases.

It claimed that the death penalty for drug crimes has been declared by the United Nations (UN) to be in violation of international law, and amounts to unlawful killing.

The group also urged Singapore to comply with international law, halt the hanging of the convicted drug trafficker, and review the use of the death penalty for drug-related crimes.

The amount of pure heroin Abd Helmi Ab Halim trafficked was sufficient to feed the addiction of close to 200 abusers for a week.

Top image from Ministry of Law.