Nagaenthran, a Malaysian, was hanged in Singapore on narcotics charges

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian with intellectual difficulties convicted of narcotics trafficking in 2010 and whose case received international attention, was executed in Singapore's Changi prison.

Nagaenthran was hanged just before dawn on Wednesday, according to his family, after authorities discovered a bag of 42.7 grammes (1.5 oz) of heroin tied to his thigh.

 

Nagaenthran's brother, Navin Kumar, told Reuters that the 33-year-remains old's would be returned to Malaysia, where he would be buried in the northern town of Ipoh.

The Malaysian was executed after the Court of Appeal denied Nagaenthran's mother's request to have her son's execution postponed.
Her last-minute request was deemed "vexatious" by the judges.

The court said last month that legal efforts to spare Naga's life were a "blatant and egregious abuse" of the legal system, and that it was "improper to engage in or support last-ditch measures" to postpone or stop his execution.

 

Nagaenthran's case has aroused considerable debate in Singapore about the city-continued state's use of the death penalty, notably in narcotics trafficking cases.

Nagaenthran's family claimed he had an IQ of 69, but the city state's courts determined he was aware of what he was doing at the time of the crime and that no other evidence had been produced to prove any loss in his mental capacities.

 

"Om Shanti, may your soul rest in peace," M Ravi, a lawyer who previously represented Nagaenthran, said on Twitter in response to the execution on Wednesday.

"You may break us, but you will not beat us," he added.
"We will continue to fight the death penalty."

 

On Monday, a few hundred people gathered at Hong Lim Park, a small patch of ground in the city centre that is the only area where the Singapore government allows public gatherings, to demonstrate their opposition to the death sentence. There were also minor protests outside the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital.

 

Nagaenthran's life has been urged to be spared by the Malaysian government, UN experts, the European Union, civil society organisations, and celebrities such as British entrepreneur Richard Branson.

Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released after Wednesday's execution that the prime minister and foreign minister had written to their Singaporean counterparts this week, asking them to reconsider Nagaenthran's sentence and suggesting they use the two countries' prisoner transfer agreement.

 

"The use of the death sentence for drug-related offences is incompatible with international human rights law," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement urging Singapore to put a stop to Naga's execution. "Countries that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only use it to punish "the most serious crimes," which are defined as "crimes of high gravity involving purposeful killing."

Edited April 29, 2022 by ASEAN NOW Content Team