Vietnam is preparing to eliminate the death penalty for drug trafficking under a proposed revision to its Penal Code, marking a significant shift in the country’s strict approach to narcotics-related crimes. The draft legislation, submitted to the National Assembly in August, would remove drug trafficking from the list of offenses eligible for capital punishment. If passed, the death penalty would be retained only for four crimes: treason, murder, terrorism, and illegal production of narcotics.
This development builds on earlier reforms, as Vietnam last year chose to retain capital punishment for drug trafficking while reducing other death-eligible offenses. The current proposal reflects a broader trend in Southeast Asia, where several countries are reevaluating the use of the death penalty for drug crimes. Malaysia abolished mandatory death sentences in 2023, while Singapore continues to impose the death penalty in serious trafficking cases that exceed specific drug quantity thresholds.
Vietnamese criminologist Hai Thanh Luong of Griffith University characterized Hanoi’s approach as “retentionist-but-reductionist,” highlighting the gradual narrowing of capital offenses rather than an outright abolition of the death penalty. He attributed the move to ongoing political and legal reforms, skepticism about the death penalty’s effectiveness in suppressing drug supply, and Vietnam’s increasing engagement with international legal standards.
The proposed law would maintain capital punishment for illegal narcotics production, distinguishing between manufacturers, considered central to the drug trade’s continuance, and traffickers. Luong noted that the reform is unlikely to significantly impact drug availability, as markets adapt quickly by replacing arrested individuals or shifting trafficking routes.
The differing policies on drug-related capital punishment across Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore reflect each country’s unique perspectives on deterrence, social stability, and state responsibility in punishment. Singapore combines its strict penalties with broad enforcement, education, and rehabilitation programs. Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam emphasized that Singapore’s harshest penalties aim to prevent the harm caused by drugs and are reserved for traffickers importing substantial amounts.
A 2024 regional survey conducted by Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs indicated strong public support for the death penalty as a deterrent to major trafficking offenses, with more than 80% of respondents favoring it over life imprisonment. Shanmugam stated that Singapore would reconsider its policy if evidence emerged that abolition is beneficial or that capital punishment fails to deter crime.
Legal experts in Singapore have explained that the death penalty is not automatic for all trafficking convictions above legal thresholds. Offenders acting solely as couriers may receive life imprisonment if they provide substantive assistance to authorities or have significant mental impairments affecting responsibility, as outlined by associate professor Eugene Tan from Singapore Management University.
Rights groups view Vietnam’s proposal as a meaningful step, given that drug trafficking has historically accounted for the highest number of death sentences in the country. Chiara Sangiorgio, an expert on the death penalty for Amnesty International, pointed to previous reforms in 2025 that reduced offenses punishable by death from 18 to 10 and introduced judicial guidelines limiting capital punishment in some drug cases. The latest draft law continues this trend toward reducing the scope of the death penalty in Vietnam’s legal system.