People take part in vigil before planned execution of Malaysian drug trafficker Nagaentran Dharmalingam before Singapore’s Supreme Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 26 April 2022 REUTERS / Hasnoor Hussain
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- Nagaentran Dharmalingam was sentenced to death for more than a decade
- A brother confirmed the execution after unsuccessful court disputes
- Candlelight vigils held in Singapore and Malaysia
- The case drew international calls for clemency
SINGAPORE, April 27 (Reuters) – Singapore executed a Malaysian man convicted of drug trafficking on Wednesday, despite calls for clemency on the grounds that he had an intellectual disability, his family said in a case that drew international attention.
Nagaentran Dharmalingham, 34, has been sentenced to death for more than a decade for trafficking 44 grams (1.5 ounces) of heroin in Singapore, which has some of the strictest drug laws in the world. His lawyers have filed numerous complaints against his execution, saying he is intellectually challenged.
His brother, Navin Kumar, 22, said by telephone that the execution had taken place and said the body would be sent back to Malaysia, where a funeral would be held in the town of Ipoh.
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A court in Singapore on Tuesday rejected a legal challenge filed by Nagaentran’s mother, clearing the way for the execution by hanging.
At the end of Tuesday’s hearing, Dharmalingam and his family reached through a slit in a glass screen to hold hands tightly as they cried. His shouts of “ma” were heard in the courtroom. Read more
Singapore authorities usually do not comment on executions.
About 300 people held a candlelight vigil in Singapore’s park on Monday to protest the planned hanging.
The Reprieve anti-death penalty group said in a statement that the execution was a “tragic miscarriage of justice”, but also said it could be a “turning point” for the opposition to the death penalty in Singapore.
A vigil was held in front of the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday night, calling for pardon, with one of the protesters carrying a placard reading “Singapore spared the noose of Nagaentran”.
“We are indescribably overwhelmed by this incredible atrocity,” Amnesty International Malaysia said on Twitter, calling for the fight against the death penalty to continue in his memory.
Nagaentran’s case has garnered worldwide attention as a group of UN experts and British billionaire Richard Branson joined Malaysia’s prime minister and human rights activists to call on Singapore to commute its sentence.
His lawyers and activists said Nagaentran’s IQ was 69, a level recognized as intellectual disability. However, the courts found that he knew what he had done at the time of his crime and ruled that there was no admissible evidence showing a deterioration in his mental state.
The Singapore government says the death penalty is a deterrent to drug trafficking, and most of its citizens support the death penalty. Read more
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Report by Chen Lin in Singapore and Rosana Latif in Kuala Lumpur, Written by Ed Davis; Edited by Stephen Coates
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