Singapore hangs drug trafficker in resumption of executions

SINGAPORE (AP) — A Singaporean man on death row for drug trafficking has been hanged in the first execution in the city-state in over two years. Abdul Kahar Othman, 68, was hanged early Wednesday, anti-death penalty activist Kirsten Han said. Singapore, which has harsh anti-drug laws, had halted executions due to the pandemic and last meted out capital punishment in November 2019. The execution occurred despite pleas, including from the U.N. Human Rights office, to commute Kahar’s sentence to life imprisonment. Rights groups have expressed concern that executions might be accelerated in the city-state after a two-year halt. The families of at least seven other death row prisoners have recently received execution notices, but their cases are pending amid legal appeals.