Lawyer refutes Singapore PM that Nagaenthran received 'due process'

 

A lawyer for Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam has refuted the Singapore government’s statement that the intellectually challenged death row inmate has been granted due process.

“From the moment of arrest and investigation to conclusion of trial, these 'procedural accommodations' (for an intellectually challenged person) should have been made in Nagaenthran’s favour.

"If treated like any other defendant with normal mental abilities, Nagaenthran will not have been accorded a fair process or fair trial," said Nagaenthran’s Malaysian counsel N Surendran (above).

Surendran said Nagaenthran was dealt with like any typical suspect or accused person, instead of as an intellectually challenged individual.

He said the police interrogated and recorded statements from an "uncomprehending person" who then had those statements used against him in court.

“In short, Nagaenthran was denied due process from day one,” Surendran said in a statement today.

Yesterday, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan replied to their Malaysian counterparts “to convey that Nagaenthran has been accorded full due process under the law”.

That came after Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob personally appealed to Lee for a stay of execution to allow for a fresh clemency petition to be filed.

Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah also wrote to Vivian about the case.

Meanwhile, Surendran also chastised the Singapore government for its “untenable” statement on the matter and urged it to grant Nagaenthran clemency.

“There is only one response that Singapore can make to Malaysia that would be consistent with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its own Constitution.

“That response is to exercise clemency in favour of Nagaenthran and prioritise bringing Singapore’s criminal laws and procedures in accord with the rights of persons with disabilities,” he said.

Singapore ratified the CRPD in 2013.

Nagaenthran, a 33-year-old Malaysian, was sentenced to death in 2011 for trafficking 42.72g of diamorphine into Singapore. Heroin is made from diamorphine.

He was scheduled to be executed on Nov 10 but was granted a stay of execution on Nov 8 after his lawyers filed an 11th-hour constitutional challenge.

He later tested positive for Covid-19, resulting in an extension of the stay until after he recovers and after the appellate court hears his case.

Nagaenthran's case has sparked an outcry in Malaysia, Singapore, and internationally with particular attention on his lower-than-average IQ of 69, which is within the range of someone with a mild intellectual disability.  - Mkini