He adds that capital punishment is imposed because it is a serious deterrent for would-be drug traffickers.
In an interview on the BBC's HARDtalk programme that aired on Wednesday , he noted that the BBC focused on the hanging of one drug trafficker, but not on the severe drug situation in South-East Asia, and the thousands of lives at stake.
"The trafficker wants to make money. He, you know, is damaging the lives of drug users, their families - damaged, often seriously destroyed," he said. Shanmugam said the courts found Nagaenthran was not intellectually disabled - which was confirmed by the psychiatrist called by his lawyers - and had made a calculated and calibrated decision to bring the drugs into Singapore.
Compared with 30 years ago, there are more drugs around the region, and Singapore would be completely swamped without tough penalties, he said. But Singapore is relooking its laws and engaging in a wide set of consultations to try and arrive at some sort of landing, he said.
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