Singapore — Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, a Malaysian national, faces execution on Nov 10. He was arrested for drug trafficking over a decade ago at the age of 21, and was sentenced to death for importing 42.72g of heroin into Singapore.
When evaluated after his arrest, he was found to have an IQ of 69 and has borderline intellectual functioning.
Nagaenthran, now 33, said at his trial that he had been coerced into committing the offence by a man who not only assaulted him but also threatened to kill his girlfriend.
Activists both in Singapore and Malaysia have pleaded for a stay of his execution based on extraordinary circumstances, and a petition on the change.org platform is appealing for his pardon, with nearly 50,000 signatories.
On Wednesday (Nov 3), local activist Kokila Annamalai shared an account of Nagaenthran’s condition based on observations from his brother, Navin, who has been visiting him.
According to Navin, Nagaenthran is “completely disoriented, much more so than when he last saw him a few years years (sic) ago.”
He was also described as “incoherent and unable to make any eye contact.”
“Naga doesn’t seem to register most things his brother talks about, though he smiles occasionally. He speaks a few disjointed sentences, and then falls silent for long periods during their visit. Naga has moments of lucidity about his past, when Navin reminds him of particular people he used to know. The only person he seems to remember clearly is his mother, and he repeatedly tells Navin to look after her,” Ms Kokila wrote in a Facebook post.
Navin also said that his brother seems unaware of his impending death, and that he “seems to be in a different world altogether.”
“This is not Nagaen, he is not himself at all.”
Navin had also apparently spoken to a prisoner whose cell is next to his brother’s and was told that Nagaenthran has not spoken to anyone in over a year.
“Navin repeated to me a few times that 12 years in isolation, without any connection or stimulation, has been devastating for his brother’s mental health. He says his mental state – in terms of his comprehension, ability to connect, his memory, his sense of shared reality with others – has deteriorated significantly over the years. The last few years, he would ask his family to visit him, and then refuse to see them at the last minute.
This is the man the Singapore state is determined to execute on the 10th of November, despite pleas from tens of thousands of people and rights groups in Singapore, Malaysia and around the world. #savenagaenthran,” wrote Ms Kokila.
Ravi M Ravi, Nagaenthran’s lawyer, has also commented on his mental state.
“He is like a 5-year-old child, he doesn’t speak much, he just kind of looks at you. He doesn’t understand what he has been going through,” he told The Washington Post. “In all my cases I’ve never seen a condition like this, I’ve never handled something like this”
Nagaenthran’s sister spoke of the pain the whole family has suffered after having learned only recently about the schedule for her brother’s execution.
They only had two weeks to make arrangements for travel, quarantine, and testing.
“They are punishing our entire family. This hanging sentence is not just a punishment for the person who committed the wrongdoing, it is a punishment for all of us,” said Sarmila Dharmalingam.
She is also quoted as saying that she “still can’t accept” the fact of Nagaenthran’s execution. /TISG
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