Three Malaysians imprisoned in Singapore for drug trafficking are spared from the death penalty until April this year.
This is due to their appeal to the Singaporean Court of Appeal on their conviction, on grounds that their private correspondence with their counsel had, on multiple occasions, been copied and forwarded to Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) without their knowledge or consent.
Malaysian prisoners Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, Datchinamurthy Kataiah and Saminathan Selvaraju, were among 13 prisoners who filed the joint application, 12 of whom are on death row.
The matter was confirmed by their lawyer Ong Ying Ping when contacted by Malaysiakini.
Their civil suit against Singapore’s AGC was initially meant to be heard on Friday (Jan 20) but was postponed until April 8.
This is due to a request by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon who sought further information from the AGC regarding the forwarded letters, namely:
- Whether the forwarded letters were requested by the AGC.
- If the letters were forwarded by the Singapore Prison Service for another purpose, had they not been requested by the AGC?
- If AGC officers involved in court proceedings of the 13 prisoners requested that the documents be provided, and if so, why.
None of the 12 death row prisoners can be executed before April 8.
The 13th prisoner Gobi Avedian, who is not on death row, is also a Malaysian appealing his conviction. He currently serving a 15-year term of imprisonment in Singapore after being charged in 2014 for attempted importation of heroin.
Datchinamurthy, who was first sentenced to death in 2015, was scheduled to be executed last year but obtained a stay of execution from the Singapore High Court pending his legal suit against the Singapore government.
Pannir was charged with trafficking heroin in 2017 while Saminathan was charged with trafficking diamorphine in 2013. - Mkini
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