Singapore court gives same-day deadline to lawyerless inmates after invoking 'abuse of process' on suit

A pre-trial hearing for a suit filed by 24 death row prisoners against Singapore authorities saw them accused of "abusing the process", in a repeat of similar accusations thrown by the court against the lawyers who were involved in challenging the city-state's draconian death penalty. 

It is understood that the court asked the prisoners to send further submissions to support their suit by 6pm today, leaving them with only hours to work through complex legal terminology and procedures to support their suit.

The move was described by a local rights activist as "unprecedented and outrageous".

"The 24 of them are representing themselves, with no lawyer to help," Kokila Annamalai, who is part of Singapore-based rights group Transformative Justice Collective, told MalaysiaNow.

"The prisoners have been provided an extremely short timeline to file submissions and argue their case before the court. This is unprecedented. It's really outrageous."

MalaysiaNow has been unable to verify if the deadline was met.

Yesterday, the prisoners filed a historic suit against the Singapore government, accusing the authorities of scuttling their right to justice after a series of troubling executions of inmates who were forced to defend themselves without lawyers in their final hours.

Just today, the city-state carried out two more executions. It is expected to hang another pair on Friday, bringing the total number of those executed under Singapore's draconian drug laws to 10 people in less than four months.

Kokila also questioned why the court had departed from the usual procedure of letting the attorney-general contest the suit within two weeks of its filing.

The prisoners' suit is not the first legal challenge by death row inmates against the authorities.

Last year, 17 Malay prisoners accused the authorities of ethnic bias in their prosecutions. The suit was thrown out, and two lawyers – M Ravi and Charles Yeoh – were slapped with heavy penalties under charges of abusing the process.

Yeoh has since sought refuge in the UK.

The penalties against the duo and other vocal lawyers have led to a climate of fear in Singapore's legal fraternity, with many death row prisoners having to represent themselves in their final hours.

Among them was 64-year-old Nazeri Lajim, a Singaporean who had been addicted to drugs since the age of 14. He had to appear for himself in a desperate plea to judges for more time to see his family members before his execution.

Singapore has scoffed at critics who question its death penalty for drug offences, despite statistics showing that most hired to courier drugs are from poor families.

Critics also point out that the drug kingpins have largely escaped arrest.

The PAP-led government, on the other hand, insists that executing drug convicts has been effective even as neighbouring Malaysia announced that it was abolishing its mandatory death penalty.