Because he had Covid-19, the execution of a man with mental disabilities for drug trafficking in Singapore was postponed.
A Singapore court on Tuesday postponed the imminent execution of Malaysian Nagaethran K. Dharmalingam after he contracted the virus, meaning a last-ditch appeal could not proceed.
He was arrested in 2009 for trafficking a small amount of heroin into the city-state, which has some of the world’s toughest drugs laws and was sentenced to death the following year.
After losing numerous appeals, he was due to be hanged Wednesday. This is despite international outrage. His supporters claim his intellectual disability makes it impossible for him to make rational decisions.
The execution of mentally disabled Malaysian man Nagaethran K. Dharmalingam (pictured) for drug trafficking in Singapore has been postponed because he has caught Covid-19
After Dharmalingam contracted the virus, a Singapore court delayed his execution. A last-ditch appeal was not possible.
After a last-resort appeal had been filed, the execution was halted. The Court of Appeal was due to hear the challenge on Tuesday.
Judge Andrew Phang Boon Leeong informed Nagaenthran that he had contracted Covid-19. Therefore, the appeal couldn’t proceed.
When deciding not to hang the man, he used logic, common sense and humanism.
M. Ravi Nagaenthran, Nagaenthran’s lawyer, stated to reporters that he was ‘pleasantly shocked’ by the inability of this man due to Covid-19 to be executed.
He added that he was’saved not by any other than the divine power’.
The appeal was not yet scheduled.
The campaigners warned ahead of court proceedings that the appeal might not be quickly dismissed. This would open the door for Wednesday’s execution, as was originally planned.
Dharmalingam, second from left, was taken in 2009 when he was accused of trafficking small amounts of heroin into the City-State. The city-state has some of most severe drug laws on the planet. He was sentenced to Death the next year.
After a last-resort appeal had been filed, the execution was halted. The Court of Appeal was due to hear the case Tuesday. (pictured: Protesters urge Malaysia to stop Dharmalingam being executed).
On Monday, a group of United Nations experts in human rights said that executions should be avoided for people with intellectual disabilities.
They stated that a return to such a punishment in order to stop drug trafficking was not only illegal but also ineffective.
He was sentenced to a life imprisonment by the European Union. Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Sayed, has asked for a delay to execution.
Nearly 70,000 people have signed an online petition asking for Nagaenthran to get his death sentence commuted.
An international group of human rights specialists from the United Nations Monday spoke out against executions of intellectually disabled people. (photo: protestors submit memorandum to Malaysian parliament
Nearly 70,000 people have signed an online petition asking for Nagaenthran’s death sentence to be commuted.
If it goes through, the execution will be the first of its kind since 2019, when Singapore defends the use capital punishment to deter crime.
Nagaenthran, aged 21, was taken into custody after his heroin bundle weighing in at 43g – roughly three teaspoons each – was discovered strapped to the back of his leg as he tried to get to Singapore.
According to supporters, he is a high-IQ man with a 69 IQ. This level of intelligence can be considered a disability. He was also suffering from an addiction and was forced into committing this crime.
The home affairs ministry of Singapore has said that the government supported his decision to continue with the hanging. Legal rulings found that he knew what he did at the time.