The Malaysian Insight

THE Singapore High Court has stayed the execution of Malaysian Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, an intellectually disabled man on death row in the republic, said Lawyers for Liberty founder N. Surendran.

“Wonderful news. The (Singapore) High Court has stayed the execution of Nagaenthran,” he tweeted today.

Nagaenthran’s lawyers had sought a prohibitory order in a last ditch attempt to save him from the gallows ahead of the execution date on Wednesday.

The originating summons was filed at the Singapore High Court on November 2, and the case was heard at 2.30pm today.

KK Cheng Law LLC’s human rights lawyer M. Ravi is representing Nagaenthran in the republic, while Wong Woon Kwong is appearing for the Attorney-General’s Chambers, who is the defendant in the case.

Ravi had on Facebook today shared the news of the decision to stay the execution pending appeal.

“Good news: the high court has just ordered a stay of execution pending the hearing of the appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision of the high court.”

In 2019, Singapore’s Court of Appeal had dismissed Nagaenthran’s appeal against his death sentence for carrying 42.72g of heroin into the republic.

He was caught with a bundle of heroin strapped to his thigh when entering the city-state from Malaysia via the Woodlands Checkpoint in April 2009.

Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said the federal government has exhausted the clemency process for Nagaenthran last year.

However, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob wrote to his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, seeking leniency for the Malaysian last Wednesday.

Anti-death sentence campaigners and rights group in both countries have urged for the execution to be stopped, citing an international law violation by executing a person with a mental disabilities.

Nagaenthran has been diagnosed with intellectual disability and has an IQ of 69, which is lower than average. – November 8, 2021.