A statement from the Singapore Police Force said Arunprakash Vaithilingam "was hanged at Changi Prison this morning at 6 am for the murder of his colleague (and) flat-mate, Lourdusamy Lenin Salvanayagan."

Vaithilingam, 25, from Tiruvarur in India's southern Tamil Nadu state, stabbed Salvanayagan, also from Tamil Nadu, with a knife during an argument three days before Christmas in 2001, the police statement said.

The victim was taken to a hospital where he died the next day.

Vaithilingam was arrested at a checkpoint on March 18, 2002 and was charged with murder. He was found guilty on December 9 last year after a five-day trial and was sentenced to death.

His appeal against the conviction was dismissed in February, the statement said.

Civil rights groups in India and Vaithilingam's parents had earlier petitioned Singapore President Sellapan Ramanathan Nathan for grant clemency.

The parents had argued that Vaithlingam had attacked his friend in a sudden fit of anger and there was no intention to kill.

"In fact, after stabbing Lenin, Arun had taken him to a nearby hospital with his friends," his father said in a petition to Nathan.

Amnesty International has also pleaded with the Singapore government to reconsider the death sentence.

A delegation of the Indian rights group People's Union for Civil Liberties met Singapore Consul Koh Siew Mui in Madras on Wednesday and handed a petition appealing to the Singaporean government to commute the death sentence.

The hanging on Friday brought to 13 the number of people executed in Singapore this year and followed the execution on September 26 of two Malaysian men convicted of drug trafficking.

According to government figures, 28 people were executed in 2002, 27 in 2001 and 21 in 2000.

Singapore, which has a reputation of being a relatively crime-free society, has resisted pressure mainly from Western countries and groups to drop its death penalty law, saying it was crucial in the fight against criminality.

Human rights group Amnesty International said in its annual report for 2003 that Singapore had one of the highest execution rates in the world, relative to its population of about 4.2 million people.

But an ongoing poll by Internet portal Yahoo showed majority of Singaporeans support the death penalty.

Of the 2899 respondents, 55 percent supported capital punishment as it helps keep the crime rate down.

Another 27 percent also gave their support but said its use should be restricted. Only 14 percent opposed the death penalty, while two percent were unsure.

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