Drug trafficker on death row granted rare clemency

A man who was on death row for drug trafficking has had his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment after succeeding in his petition for clemency, which is rarely granted.

- Selina Lum

Tristan Tan Yi Rui, 33, was sentenced to death in February 2023 after he was found guilty of trafficking 337.6g of methamphetamine. His conviction and sentence were upheld by the Court of Appeal.

In response to queries from The Straits Times on Aug 15, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that on Aug 14, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, on the advice of the Cabinet, granted a pardon to Tan.

The statement said the Cabinet was advised that the sentence imposed on Tan was legally sound.

"Nevertheless, a recommendation was made to grant clemency to him because of the specific facts and circumstances of the case," said MHA.

The statement said Tan was arrested as part of a Central Narcotics Bureau operation which involved the arrest of several other subjects.

One of the other subjects arrested in the operation, who was tried separately on a capital charge, eventually received a non-capital sentence.