Singapore to execute Nagaenthran on April 27 as lawyer appeals to Putrajaya

Malaysian Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam will be executed in Singapore on April 27 despite efforts at both the domestic and international level to save him from the gallows.

The Singapore Prison Service said in a letter to his mother, Panchalai Supermaniam, that extended visits would be facilitated on a daily basis until the eve of his execution.

Prominent Singapore rights lawyer M Ravi, who had represented Nagaenthran throughout his legal battle, said the only way to save him now was for Putrajaya to take the case to the International Court of Justice.

“I respectfully urge the Malaysian government to file an action in the International Court of Justice and obtain an interim stay,” he said in comments to MalaysiaNow.

“This is the only way to save Nagaenthran. The Malaysian government should not waste any more time on this, but act urgently to save Nagaenthran.”

Nagaenthran, now 34, was arrested in 2009 for trafficking a small amount of heroin into Singapore, which has some of the world’s toughest drug laws.

He was handed the death sentence the following year.

Supporters say Nagaenthran has an IQ of 69 – a level recognised as a disability – and was coerced into committing the crime.

He was scheduled to be hanged in November last year but the verdict sparked criticism due to concerns he has intellectual disabilities, with the European Union and British billionaire Richard Branson among those condemning the decision.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob were among Malaysian government leaders who had also written to Singapore authorities asking for leniency on behalf of Nagaenthran.

Nagaenthran’s latest petition for clemency was rejected on March 31, two days after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against his death sentence.