Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian death row convict, is slated to be hanged in Singapore next week, according to lawyer M. Ravi.
"I have just learned the awful news that Nagaenthran will be hung on Wednesday" (April 27).
"The Singapore state will never recover from the worldwide disgrace it would face as a result of hanging an intellectually handicapped person," prominent human rights lawyers wrote on Wednesday in a Facebook post (April 20).
Ravi, who had represented Nagaenthran, remained critical of the case.
"From the start, everything about this case is wrong.
"Even the government psychiatrist testifying during the trial recognized that Nagaenthran had a mental disorder. I will state categorically that all Singaporeans will have blood on their hands next Wednesday as a result of the execution being carried out in their name.
"You have a responsibility to put an end to this!!!" he added.
Nagaenthran, 34, was sentenced to death on March 29 after a Singapore court dismissed his final appeal against the death sentence imposed for drug trafficking.
He was arrested in 2009 and convicted in 2010 of trafficking 42.72 grams of heroin, a felony that carries a mandatory death sentence.
In 2011, his appeal against conviction and sentence was denied.
In 2017, the Singapore High Court found that Nagaenthran did not meet the criteria for life imprisonment, citing testimony from four psychological and psychiatric specialists.
Nagaenthran's story came to public notice in October last year when his mother in Ipoh received a letter from the Singapore Prison Service informing her of his impending execution on Nov 10.
The letter, which was shared on social media, prompted both local and international appeals for clemency against the death sentence.
His previous lawyer Ravi attempted to delay the execution at the last minute, arguing that Nagaenthran has the "mental age" of a person under the age of 18.
The High Court, however, refused an application for leave to initiate judicial review proceedings contesting Nagenthren's death sentence.
He subsequently filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal, which was dismissed on March 29.
Comments