After the lawyers who defended Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam were ordered by the Court of Appeal to pay thousands of dollars in costs, a crowdfunding effort was put up to raise money to help them defray costs.
On May 25, the two lawyers were ordered to pay $20,000 in costs to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). Mr Ravi, who represented Nagaenthran for a longer period of time, has been ordered to pay 75 per cent of the costs.
Lawyers Ravi M Ravi and Violet Netto represented Nagaenthran, who was executed last month despite calls for his pardon from many in Singapore and around the globe, as the Malaysian national was said to have had an IQ of 69 and other disabilities.
The AGC said that though filing unmeritorious applications, the lawyers had set out to delay the execution, which then gave rise to unnecessary costs. It had originally sought personal costs of $40,000 from the two, The Straits Times reported.
Mr Ravi wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday (May 29), that so far, $8,420 has been raised.
Activist Kirsten Han, who appears to be spearheading the effort to raise the money for Mr Ravi, asked in a May 27 Facebook post, “How much does it cost to save a life in Singapore?”
It has been one month since Nagaen’s death today. His family are still deep in their mourning. I think about what I witnessed last month, about the pain that they must still be feeling, and I cannot fathom how anyone can reach the conclusion that any attempt to save Nagaen — save any human life — could have been a waste of time.”
She wrote that “it should be expected” for lawyers to do their utmost for their clients’ lives, especially in death penalty cases, and if a court finds lawyers’ arguments to be “unconvincing or without merit” the court may dismiss applications.
“But how can any attempt to save a life be punished as frivolous, vexatious, a waste of time? When the stakes are so high, higher than any other punishment that can be meted out, why should lawyers be punished for fighting hard?,” Ms Han added.
The activist also provided a breakdown of the costs Mr Ravi and Ms Netto are being asked to pay:
– $10,000 for an application relating to the disproportionate representation of Malays on death row in Singapore (with further indemnity costs likely forthcoming)
– $20,000 for applications filed in relation to Nagaen’s case
– An estimated $12,000 for applications filed in relation to Roslan, Pausi, and Rosman — three death row prisoners who had received execution notices (but have since received either respite orders or stays of execution)
Those who would like to contribute to the crowdfunding may do so via PayNow or a bank transfer directly to Mr Ravi, as well as through Ko-fi here. Account details for the fundraising efforts may be found in Ms Han’s post here.
“In the best case scenario, if this crowdfunding turns out to be wildly successful and exceeds the amount needed for Ravi to pay off these costs, any excess amount will be donated to an organisation or charity of Ravi’s choice.
Thank you for standing with the lawyers who, in death row prisoners’ darkest moments, fought hard to provide a ray of light,” she added. /TISG
Candlelight vigil for Nagaenthran on April 25, two days before his scheduled execution