Singapore hangs drug trafficker

A Singaporean drug trafficker has been hanged in Changi prison.

Shanmugam Murugesu, 38, was arrested at the Malaysian border in August 2003 with more than a kilogram of cannabis and lost an appeal against a conviction for drug trafficking.

Last year, Amnesty International said about 400 people had been hanged in Singapore since 1991, mostly for drug trafficking.

The government defends the death penalty saying it has deterred major drug syndicates from establishing themselves in Singapore.