M’sia PM Writes to PM Lee to Seek Leniency for M’sian Drug Trafficker on Death Row in S’pore

By
Shawn Ambrose
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Last week, when Preetipls’ brother Subhas Nair went to court to get charged, everyone noticed that he was wearing a black t-shirt with the face of a man on it.

It turned out to be a photo of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a 31-year-old Malaysian man who has been on death row ever since he was convicted and sentenced to death in November 2010 for importing 42.72g of heroin.

In May 2019, the Court of Appeal dismissed two appeals against his sentence, but many have called for leniency and even started a petition. 

Now, it’s Nagaenthran’s home country who is making an appeal for clemency.

M’sia PM Writes to PM Lee to Seek Leniency for M’sia Drug Trafficker on Death Row in S’pore

Malaysia Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has made a personal appeal to PM Lee Hsien Loong to spare Nagaenthran from execution, reported Malaysiakini. 

The 33-year-old is set to be executed on 10 Nov.

Mr Ismail is hoping for a stay of execution (a delay in carrying out a court order) so a fresh petition for presidential clemency can be filed.

In his letter, Mr Ismail stressed that he has no intention of interfering in Singapore’s judicial process, and is simply submitting the appeal for leniency purely on “humanitarian grounds”.

“I believe there is still room for the government of Singapore to consider granting a stay of execution and allowing a new petition for presidential clemency in the case of Mr Nagaenthran,” Mr Ismail added.

“I sincerely hope you will give this appeal due consideration.”

What Happened

Nagaenthran had been caught in 2009 with a bundle of heroin strapped to his thigh while entering Singapore from Malaysia at Woodlands Checkpoint.

He said he knew that the bundle contained heroin, but added that a friend known as “King” had strapped it to his thigh so no one would find it.

He claimed King had pressured him into smuggling the drug, after allegedly assaulting him and threatening to kill his girlfriend.

When assessed at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in 2013, Nagaenthran was not found to be suffering from any mental illness. However, the IMH report stated that his borderline range of intelligence might have made him more susceptible to believing King’s alleged threat.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed two appeals against his sentence since it was handed down, but people are still begging for clemency.

The aforementioned petition, which has over 62,000 signatures at the time of writing, calls for President Halimah Yacob to pardon “an intellectually disabled man” who has an IQ of 69.

Image: Change.org

In response to the calls, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said last Friday (5 Nov) that Nagaenthran was not “substantially impaired” while committing the offence. It held that Nagaenthran’s defence of committing the crime under duress from King, was fabricated.

“Nagaenthran himself resiled from his claim of duress in subsequent proceedings, and accepted that he committed the offence because he needed money, as opposed to having been labouring under any threat,” it said.

“The Court of Appeal found that this was the working of a criminal mind…It was a deliberate, purposeful and calculated decision on Nagaenthran’s part to take the chance.”

MHA added that the High Court has assessed the evidence of psychiatrists, who determined that the 33-year-old was not intellectually disabled.

“He was also noted to be ‘continuously altering his account of his education qualifications, ostensibly to reflect lower educational qualifications each time he was interviewed,” it added.

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]