Would-be visitors to Singapore have been issued another reminder of the wealthy city-state’s zero-tolerance approach to narcotics with the hanging last year of 15 people for trafficking and related crimes, the most in more than two decades and an increase on the nine executions carried out in 2024.
While the government’s stern approach has drawn international criticism, including from neighbouring Australia and the European Union, authorities are adamant that the measures will remain in place.
“Singapore’s policies on capital punishment and drugs have worked for us, helping us stem the tide of illicit drugs and save countless lives,” the country’s embassy in Australia said in a social media post late in December.
In November, the EU delegation in Singapore called on the government “to implement a moratorium and to move towards abolition, in line with the worldwide trend.”
Drugs can be found relatively easily elsewhere in Southeast Asia, with illicit production rife in junta-ruled Myanmar and distribution networks spanning the often hedonistic holiday spots across neighbouring states, which are popular with tourists who in turn include a stop in Singapore as they travel around.
Despite its small size (the entire country has around half the land area of Greater London), Singapore remains a draw for tourists. Some 16.5 million visited in 2024, more than the number that visited Indonesia, Singapore’s vast neighbour with its thousands of islands and beaches.
That year saw “record receipts” from tourism, according to the government, while a report published in November by the tourism board and trade ministry showed visitor spending as a key pillar of the economy.
European travellers heading to and from Australia and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region have long transited via Singapore. In 2024, the city-state’s airport was the world’s fourth-busiest when measured by number of international passengers, according to a widely cited ranking published by Airports Council International.