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Singapore’s highest court dismissed a mentally disabled Malaysian man’s last-ditch appeal against a death sentence on Tuesday, leaving his family “devastated” and “shocked” by the decision.
Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for bringing a small amount of heroin into the city-state, which has some of the strictest drug laws in the world and was sentenced to death the following year. He was supposed to be executed by hanging in November, but the plan sparked outrage due to concerns about his mental retardation, with the European Union and British billionaire Richard Branson among all those condemning it. The 34-year-old filed a final appeal, arguing that executing someone with mental disabilities violates international law. The Court of Appeal, however, dismissed the conundrum, with Singapore’s Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon stating that it had “no factual or legal basis.”
Nagaenthran had been “afforded due process,” and his defense had put “nothing forward to suggest that he has a case,” he said, accusing Malaysian lawyers of abusing the court process to postpone the execution.
Nagaenthran, who was dressed in a purple prison uniform and a white face mask, was solemn throughout the proceedings.
M Ravi, a human rights lawyer who is assisting in the case, stated that no further appeals would be filed and that the execution could take place within days.
Sarmila Dharmalingam, speaking to AFP from Malaysia, sobbed as she said the family was “devastated by the court decision.”
Despite my brother’s low IQ, we are stunned by the court decision.”
“It’s been a horrifying ordeal for us,” she said of his long-running case.
The appeal was supposed to take place months ago, but it was postponed after Nagaenthran became infected with Covid-19.
There have been no executions in Singapore since 2019, but there are growing fears that the city-state will hang several drug traffickers in the coming months.
According to Amnesty International, Singapore is one of more than 30 countries where drug-related offenses are still punishable by death.
Nagaenthran was arrested at the age of 21 after a bundle of heroin weighing approximately 43 grams (one and a half ounces) – roughly three tablespoons – was discovered strapped to his thigh.
Supporters claim he has an IQ of 69, which is considered a disability, and was coerced into committing the crime.
Authorities, however, have defended his conviction, claiming that legal rulings determined that he “knew what he was doing” at the time of the offense.
The city-state maintains the death penalty for a variety of offenses, including drug trafficking and murder, and claims that it has contributed to Singapore’s status as one of Asia’s safest cities.
