The Singapore High Court has granted a stay of execution in the case of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam.
The Malaysian, who is on death row for a drug trafficking conviction, had been slated to be executed on Wednesday (Nov 10).
This afternoon, the court heard as his lawyers challenged the execution at the 11th hour arguing that it was unconstitutional to hang someone with an intellectual disability.
Nagaenthran’s Singapore lawyer M Ravi posted about the decision on Facebook.
“Good news. The High Court has just ordered a stay of execution pending the hearing of the appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision of the (Singapore) High Court,” he wrote.
Ravi later explained that the High Court had dismissed the constitutional challenge but allowed an appeal.
Until the Court of Appeal hears the case and delivers a decision, the stay of execution will be in place.
Meanwhile, Nagaenthran’s Malaysian lawyer N Surendran said he was relieved at the decision.
“It is an immense relief. His brother Navinkumar has been waiting by the phone in his Singapore hotel since 2pm. He said he feels like dancing in joy.
“It was a tremendous, purely good effort by activists, lawyers, the public (and) everyone here in Malaysia, Singapore and worldwide,” he said in an immediate response.
Four of the Nagaenthran's family members, including his brother Navinkumar and mother Panchalai Supermaniam, had travelled to the city-state to see the 33-year-old after learning about his execution date.
Ahead of today's decision, other family members had gathered in their hometown of Ipoh, Perak to urge Singapore to stop the execution.
International spotlight
This decision comes amidst significant public outcry over Nagaenthran’s case, with particular attention to his lower-than-average IQ of 69 and other mental health issues.
His family also lamented the timing of the execution, just a week after Deepavali, an important Hindu festival. This is on top of the high costs incurred for travelling from Malaysia to Singapore during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last week, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had personally appealed to his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong for the execution to be stayed.
Anti-death penalty and lawyer groups have also launched the #SaveNagaenthran campaign, urging the republic to commute his death sentence to a life sentence.
At the time of writing, an online petition calling on Singapore President Halimah Yacob to pardon him has more than 63,000 signatures.
Aside from those in Malaysia and Singapore, news outlets like the Sydney Morning Herald, Vice, The Washington Post and global newswire Associated Press have reported on the case.
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. - Mkini
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