Lawyers representing Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam have made a final attempt to save him.
Their constitutional challenge against his execution is expected to be heard tomorrow, two days before his Nov 10 execution date.
The Malaysian is presently on death row in Singapore for a drug trafficking conviction.
In a comment to Malaysiakini, Nagaenthan’s Malaysian counsel N Surendran explained they are challenging the execution on grounds that it is unconstitutional for the republic to execute a “mentally disabled person”.
His lawyers say Nagaenthran has a diagnosed IQ of 69. This is a lower-than-average IQ and is within the range of someone with a mild intellectual disability.
Thus, they contend that it is in violation of Article 9(1) and Article 12(1) of the Singapore Constitution to execute him.
The former states that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law”. The latter states that “all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law”.
Aside from the constitution, they argue that Singapore will also violate its own prison service policy if it executes the 33-year-old.
“It is in breach of Singapore prisons’ own policy not to execute mentally disabled persons,” Surendran said.
He believes that Nagaenthran will be the first person to be executed in Singapore since 2019.
Furthermore, they argue that the execution is in breach of “customary international law”.
This is especially since Singapore is a party of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The country ratified the CRPD back in 2013.
This constitutional challenge is set to be heard in the Singapore High Court on Nov 8 at 2:30pm.
“If successful, the execution will stay as we are seeking a prohibitory order in respect of the execution,” Surendran said.
Naegenthran is represented in Singapore by lawyer M Ravi.
Back in 2011, Nagaenthran was sentenced to death for trafficking 42.72g of diamorphine into Singapore two years prior. Heroin is made from diamorphine.
Previous appeals and clemency petitions have failed.
READ MORE: A Deepavali trip to S’pore to see Nagaenthran, one last time
Public outcry, international headlines
Nagaenthran’s case has sparked public outcry since his execution date was known on Oct 26.
An online petition calling on Singapore president Halimah Yacob to pardon him has garnered more than 59,000 signatures at the time of writing.
Anti-death penalty and lawyer groups have launched a #SaveNagaenthran campaign, urging the republic to commute his death sentence to a life sentence.
Wisma Putra has written to its Singapore counterpart about this but stopped short of asking for the execution to be halted.
Aside from those in Malaysia and Singapore, news outlets like the Sydney Morning Herald, Vice, The Washington Post and global newswire Associated Press have also reported on the case.
Ministry criticised for stance
In response, Singapore’s Home Affairs Ministry (MHA) cited the courts and said Nagaenthran’s mental responsibility for his offence was “not substantially impaired” and he “clearly understood” that transporting drugs was a crime.
As pressure and media queries mounted, the MHA again disputed his mental condition yesterday.
It said several psychiatrists had told the court he was “not intellectually disabled” and “knew what he was doing”.
Surendran, who also runs legal aid NGO Lawyers for Liberty, has since accused the ministry of making “false claims”.
“We are appalled that the MHA falsely claims in its statement that the court had assessed the evidence of psychiatrists ‘including the evidence of a psychiatrist called by the defence on behalf of Nagaenthran, who agreed in court, that Nagaenthran was not intellectually disabled.’
“The MHA’s claim that a defence psychiatrist had given evidence that Nagaenthran was not intellectually disabled is an outright lie.
“On the contrary, the defence psychiatrist Dr Ung Eng Khean of Adam Medical Centre in fact testified in the High Court that Nagaenthran was intellectually disabled. A quick perusal of the reported judgment will confirm this,” he said in a separate statement.
The Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign also hit out at the MHA for its “portrayal” of Nagaenthran.
“What we find troubling is MHA’s portrayal of Nagaenthran as an individual with a sophisticated criminal mind despite the fact that he is found to have borderline intellectual functioning with an IQ of 69, mild ADHD, several cognitive impairments and mental health issues [...]
“Due to the findings of his psychiatric evaluation, Naga should never have been measured by a standardised yardstick in the first place,” its coordinator Rachel Zeng said in a statement today.
Both Zeng and Surendran called on Singapore to halt Nagaenthran’s execution. - Mkini
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