Death penalty: Public interest comes first before beliefs, says Shanmugam

In Facebook post, minister outlines Singapore's considerations on use of capital punishment

- Gabrielle Andres

Public interest must come before personal beliefs, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said on Jan 19 in a Facebook post on the death penalty.

"One's personal beliefs can and will inform one's views on policy, but in the end, you have to do what is right by society, for the benefit of the community as a whole, regardless of your personal beliefs; to do otherwise would be wrong," he said.

The post had highlighted the Singapore Government's considerations on the use of capital punishment in Singapore.

"Removing the death penalty will save the lives of drug traffickers. But it will encourage more people to traffic drugs into Singapore," said Mr Shanmugam.

"The supply of drugs will undoubtedly rise. And there will be consequences: more serious crime, violence, drug-related deaths.

"Many more innocent people will die in Singapore, including more innocent young children," he added.

Mr Shanmugam wrote that he had, in an interview with the BBC in 2024, said that "you need a kind heart but a hard head in public policy".

"You have to be clear-eyed in assessing what the consequences of a policy are," the minister said.

"Taking away life is serious; and it does weigh heavily on one's mind - no one wants to have the death of anyone else on his conscience."