Man sentenced to death in Singapore via Zoom call

Singapore has become the first country to issue capital punishment via a zoom call.

A Malaysian was handed the death penalty for his role in a 2011 drug deal.

With the country under lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, legal proceedings are being delivered remotely.

“For the safety of all involved in the proceedings, the hearing for Public Prosecutor v Punithan A/L Genasan was conducted by video-conferencing,” a spokesperson for Singapore’s supreme court said

While human rights groups have objected to the use of video-conferencing for capital punishments, lawyers say the call was only to issue the court's verdict and not to present any legal arguments.