FYI, The Straits Times is basically a step down from a state mouthpiece. If you don't believe me, just read the article:

The cannabis seized from Omar is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 144 abusers for a week.

Here's a Human Rights Watch article from five days ago not flagrantly trying to justify the state-sanctioned murder of a man convicted of an entirely harmless crime. Fuck TST for this journalistic swill.

Imagine killing a human being for possession of a harmless plant. It's wildly unjust.

Singapore is such a fucked up place, yet righties love to act like it's some utopia.

Two pounds of weed btw. A man's life because he wanted to get high with friends at a party or something. It's illegal to import so it's not unlikely that he wanted to get a bunch and use it over the course of a year. Fucking insane. Also fuck this articles's loaded language and framing.

William Gibson (author of Neuromancer among other things, not all of them good) published an article about Singapore 30 years ago. It's titled Disneyland with the Death Penalty.

33 years later and much of this is still very relevant. It has dated somewhat, but accurately reflects what I experienced in Singapore during work travel over the past few years.

At the least, if you're interested in what dystopian science fiction writers think about Singapore it certainly dropped some puzzles pieces into place for me.

Singapore makes it extremely clear this is the punishment for smuggling any drugs.

This is what the paper disimberkment form used to look like before they switched to an electronic version. I think the electronic version says something similar.

The cannabis seized from Omar is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 144 abusers for a week.

What the hell is up with this bizarre line in the article? "Addiction"? "Abusers"? Is the the article writer fucking serious with this Reefer Madness shit? What a god damn clown.

Singapore loves to pretend it's a modern country with it's gardens and fancy buildings.

But beneath the surface is an overworked population ruled by a family dictatorship.

Disneyland with the death penalty.

And that's why I'll never move to Singapore.

I'm not in any way, shape or form defending the policy of Singapore, but... given that they do have a death penalty for this, why the hell did he carry 1 kg into the country? I've been to Singapore and I was afraid to even let go of my bags for a second, for fear that someone would plant something on me.

No matter how you spin it thats barbaric

what a shithole

well I'm sure he won't ever do that again!

surely he learned his lesson.

Singapore is notorious for having extreme penalties for relatively minor crimes