On 1 November 2021, the presidents of the Malaysian Bar, the Advocates Association of Sarawak, and the Sabah Law Society, co-signed two letters, one addressed to the president of Singapore, and another addressed to the prime minister of Singapore.
Both letters essentially called upon the government of Singapore to exercise its power of clemency to commute the death sentence imposed upon Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, a Malaysian national who had been convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore, and who was scheduled to hang on 10 November.
The letters were personally delivered by the president of the Malaysian Bar on behalf of his fellow presidents and himself to the high commissioner of Singapore to Malaysia, who was gracious to receive him and his small delegation in person.
Fortuitously, the execution did not proceed as scheduled, because Nagaenthran contracted Covid in prison. Nevertheless, the death sentence remains.
On 12 November, the government of Singapore replied to the letters. In essence, the government of Singapore reiterated that Nagaenthran had enjoyed the full benefit of legal due process within the criminal justice system in Singapore. He had received legal representation at trial, and his medical condition – he has been identified as having an IQ of 69 – had been fully taken into account in subsequent appeals and other legal proceedings.
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The courts had decided that his intellectual capacity was not diminished and that he was fully cognisant of his actions and fully appreciated their legal consequences. As such, there was no reason to disturb the finding of guilt and the imposition of the death penalty.
Our call to the government of Singapore was in relation to the issue of clemency. This is a process that is extrajudicial that takes place after all judicial processes are exhausted. We note that an earlier application for clemency had been rejected. Given the reported further deterioration of Nagaenthran’s mental condition, we believe that a reconsideration of clemency is warranted.
We note that many international, regional and national organisations, governments, civil society bodies, and individuals have written to the government of Singapore in support of the abolition of the death penalty and the commutation of Nagaenthran’s death sentence.
Many that have done so, including the three bars in Malaysia, have noted that Singapore has signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. As such, we hope that Singapore will give effect to commitments that it has made under the convention.
We sincerely and strongly urge the government of Singapore to give this all due and necessary consideration. We have always had a close relationship with Singapore – our neighbour to the south.
We respect its sovereignty and laws, but what we are merely asking for is compassion to be extended to our citizen who has been medically diagnosed as being of impaired intellectual ability and has been languishing in a cell for more than 10 years in a foreign country.
All we are asking for is humanity.
AG Kalidas is president of the Malaysian Bar
This piece is reproduced from here and has been edited for style only.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
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- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
