1. The capital sentence of death imposed on Rosman bin Abdullah (“Rosman”) was carried out on 22 November 2024.
2. Rosman, a 55-year-old Singaporean, was convicted of having in his possession for the purpose of trafficking not less than 57.43 grammes of diamorphine. The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine trafficked is more than 15 grammes. 57.43 grammes of diamorphine is almost four times that amount, and is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 690 abusers for a week.
3. Rosman was accorded full due process under the law, and was represented by legal counsel throughout the process:
a. Rosman was convicted and sentenced to capital punishment on 16 July 2010.
b. He appealed against his conviction and sentence, and the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal on 26 April 2011.
c. Following the passing of the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act 2012, Rosman made an application to be re-sentenced, which was dismissed by the High Court on 23 September 2015.
d. Rosman appealed against the High Court’s decision concerning his re-sentencing application, and the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal on 21 November 2016.
4. Rosman’s petitions to the President for clemency were unsuccessful. He was scheduled for execution on 23 February 2022. On 22 February, one day before his scheduled execution, an application was filed involving Rosman. The High Court ordered a stay of execution, and that this application be heard together with a similar application filed by two other PACPs. The applications were eventually dismissed. The High Court held that the applications were an abuse of process of the court.
5. Rosman has been involved in multiple other post-appeal applications. Rosman was an applicant and/or joint applicant for eight other legal proceedings. All these applications have been resolved.
6. On 19 September 2024, Rosman was part of a group of 31 PACPs who filed an application challenging the constitutionality of certain provisions introduced under the Post-appeal Applications in Capital Cases (PACC) Act 2022. This application is pending before the High Court. Rosman has been scheduled for execution as the outcome of the application is not relevant to his conviction or sentence.
7. Capital punishment is imposed only for the most serious crimes, such as the trafficking of significant quantities of drugs which cause very serious harm, not just to individual drug abusers, but also to their families and the wider society.
Central Narcotics Bureau
22 November 2024
