The Singapore Court of Appeal has extended a stay of execution granted to Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam after the Malaysian on death row was tested positive for Covid-19.
When contacted, Nagaenthran’s Malaysian lawyer, N Surendran, confirmed that his client will not be executed tomorrow.
“Everything has been postponed because he has Covid-19,” Surendran told Malaysiakini.
He earlier took to Twitter with an update following a scheduled appeal hearing in Singapore at 2.30pm today.
“Nagaenthran’s stay of execution granted yesterday by the High Court has been extended by the Court of Appeal this afternoon!
“On grounds that he has covid-19,” he tweeted.
Nagaenthran, who has been on death row for 11 years, was initially scheduled to appear in court today for an appeal hearing against his sentence for a drug trafficking conviction.
Singapore news outlet Channel News Asia reported that Nagaenthran was ushered briefly into the dock before being taken away.
The report quoted Justice Andrew Phang, who sat on a three-member bench alongside fellow judges Judith Prakash and Kannan Ramesh, who said Nagaenthran's situation “is rather unexpected”.
He also said the court was of the view that it was not appropriate to proceed, “given the circumstances”.
“The execution is scheduled for tomorrow,” said Justice Phang.
“... If the applicant has been afflicted by Covid-19 ... it’s our view that the execution cannot take place anyway,” he was quoted as saying.
Aside from the appeal hearing, Surendran yesterday said the Court of Appeal has also set 2.30pm today to hear a new application by Nagaenthran’s Singaporean lawyers for a psychiatric assessment of their client’s deteriorating mental state.
The stay on execution and appeal 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.
Back in 2011, Nagaenthran was sentenced to death for trafficking 42.72g of diamorphine into Singapore two years prior. Heroin is made from diamorphine. - Mkini
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