Singapore — The fate of convicted drug trafficker Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam will be decided next Tuesday (Nov 30), says his family.
Nagaenthran, 33, whose case has been in the international spotlight for some weeks now, had originally been scheduled to hang on Nov 10.
But his execution was delayed when he tested positive for Covid-19 on Nov 8.
He has been on death row for 11 years.
The Associated Press reported on Friday (Nov 25) that his case will be heard at the Court of Appeal on Nov 30, according to his sister, Sarmila Dharmalingam.
If this appeal is dismissed, his execution could come quickly.
Speaking through the UK-based rights group Reprieve, his brother, Navinkumar Dharmalingam, underlined that Nagaenthran’s mental condition has “severely deteriorated”.
“I don’t think he has any idea that he’s going to be executed. He doesn’t seem to understand it at all. When I visited him, he talked about coming home and eating home-cooked food with our family. It broke my heart that he seemed to think he’s coming home,” added Navinkumar.
Nagaenthran is said to have an IQ of 69 and to suffer from intellectual disability.
He was arrested for drug trafficking when he was 21, and sentenced to death for importing 42.72g of heroin into Singapore. At his trial, he claimed he had been coerced by a man who assaulted him and threatened to kill his girlfriend.
Appeals for a stay of execution for Nagaenthran have come from many quarters, including Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, rapporteurs from the United Nations and even celebrities such as British business magnate Richard Branson.
Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama reported on Nov 7 that the Malaysian PM wrote to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong requesting clemency for Nagaenthran.
Malaysia’s Parliament or Dewan Rakyat, was told on Tuesday (Nov 23) that the country’s monarch had written to Madam Halimah appealing for clemency for the drug trafficker.
Activists on both sides of the Causeway have pleaded for a stay of his execution based on extraordinary circumstances, and a petition on the change.org platform appealing for him to be spared has drawn more than 96,000 signatories.
Malaysiakini reported last week that Nagaenthran’s lawyer in Singapore, M Ravi, was planning to sue Singapore’s Attorney-General Lucien Wong on behalf of Nagaenthran’s family.
He told Malaysiakini: “What I have is the instruction (from) the family to sue the AG (Wong) over their negligence and willful disregard. After putting them on notice (about) Nagaenthran’s mental health, they should have just stopped and said ‘Okay, I’ll get someone to review’. (There has been a) willful disregard for human life. We will be suing. Nagaenthran and the family will be claiming damages as well.” /TISG
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Malaysian King appealed to President Halimah Yacob for clemency in Nagaenthran’s case