SINGAPORE: Singaporean Tangaraju Suppiah was executed at dawn today (26 Apr) after his family’s desperate appeals for President Halimah Yacob to grant him clemency went unanswered.
Mr Tangaraju was convicted of abetting an attempt to traffic 1kg of cannabis he never touched in 2017. He has maintained his innocence for the past eight years, to no avail.
Despite his family’s countless appeals for mercy, an nth-hour review application Mr Tangaraju had filed based on a new legal argument was summarily dismissed yesterday afternoon (25 Apr) without being heard by the court. The application was based on a new legal argument he had not advanced before.
Mr Tangaraju’s mother, Paapa, visited him yesterday morning for the first time in almost three years, but she did know that her son was hanged this morning. The family did not tell her because they did not think she could bear it.
73-year-old Paapa, who worked as a road sweeper for 18 years to support her family, was elated after she visited with Mr Tangaraju and said they talked about their past, including his birthdays. However, little did she know that this would be the last time she would see her son.
Mr Tangaraju’s elder sister Leela has been fighting for her brother for years and said she would take her brother’s place if she could.
Leela and Paapa will never again see their beloved Tangaraju, or Appu, as he is fondly called.
Anti-death penalty Kokila Annamalai shared: “During their visits this week, Appu has been asking his family to bring him photos from his childhood, of family events, the little bits of life they’ve shared together.
He confessed that these photos and visits with loved ones he hasn’t seen in 9 years are bringing back strong flashes of memory, making him recollect fond relationships he has tried to shut out of his mind for close to a decade now. With these images and feelings rushing back, he hasn’t been able to sleep. It has rekindled a strong yearning to be with the people who love him most.”
She added that Mr Tangaraju’s family is deeply saddened that they couldn’t fulfil the two main last wishes he had, “one, to receive a special hanuman’s rudraksh (an 11-faced prayer bead made from dried stonefruit) and some kungumam (more commonly known as kumkum, a red powder with religious significance) from the Selangor Sri Angalaparameshwari temple.”
Revealing that the family went to great lengths to obtain both of these items for him only to be told that the prison wouldn’t let them pass these items through in the end, Ms Kokila said that Mr Tangaraju’s family lamented:
“Why can’t they allow him even these small comforts? They want to take his life, and he has just these few wishes, of great spiritual value to him. How would it hurt to let us give these items to him? They can screen them first, make sure they’re safe, whatever they need! But why deny him this? And why put us through such an ordeal?”
Fellow activist Kirsten Han told the BBC this morning, “The family said they weren’t going to give up on him until right until to the end. It has been such a harrowing experience for them. They still have a lot of unresolved questions about his case, and the evidence against him.”
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