Posted on 04/27/2022 1:48:51 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Singapore on Wednesday executed a mentally disabled Malaysian man condemned for a drug offense after a court dismissed a last-minute challenge from his mother and international pleas to spare him.
Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, 34, had been on death row for over a decade after he was convicted of trafficking about one-and-a-half ounces of heroin into Singapore. The city-state's government has said its use of the death penalty for drug crimes is made clear at its borders.
Nagaenthran's family and social activists confirmed the execution Wednesday.
"On this score may I declare that Malaysia is far more humane," his sister Sarmila Dharmalingam said. "Zero to Singapore on this."
Nagaenthran's supporters and lawyers said he had an IQ of 69 and was intellectually disabled, and that the execution of a mentally ill person was prohibited under international human rights law.
Singapore's courts ruled, citing psychiatrists' testimony in court, that he was not mentally disabled and had understood his actions at the time of his crime.
"Nagaenthran Dharmalingam's name will go down in history as the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice," said Maya Foa, director of non-governmental organization Reprieve.
"Hanging an intellectually disabled, mentally unwell man because he was coerced into carrying less than three tablespoons of diamorphine is unjustifiable and a flagrant violation of international laws that Singapore has chosen to sign up to."
Nagaenthran and his mother had filed a motion Monday arguing that it was unconstitutional to proceed with his death sentence and that he may not have been given a fair trial because the chief justice who presided over his appeals had been the attorney general when Nagaenthran was convicted in 2010, which the filing alleged could be a conflict of interest.
The court dismissed the motion, describing it as "frivolous."
His family said Nagaenthran's body will be brought to their hometown in Malaysia's northern state of Perak, where they have made preparations for his funeral.
Singapore had halted executions for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic before resuming them with the execution of a drug trafficker in March.
Anyone found with over a half-ounce of heroin faces the death sentence in Singapore, although judges can reduce that to life in prison at their discretion. Attempts to reduce Nagaenthran's sentence or obtain a presidential pardon failed.
Malaysia's leader, European Union representatives and global figures such as British business magnate Richard Branson called for Nagaenthran's life to be spared and used the case to advocate for ending capital punishment.
Singapore is a beautiful place, very safe,
but those boys don’t play.
Don’t spit your gum out on the sidewalk. Don’t throw a ciggie butt out of your car window. And most importantly, don’t mess with drugs in any fashion (no place in SE Asia tolerates drug trafficking...especially Singapore).
On it,at the bottom,were the words "Death Penalty For Drug Traffickers Under Singapore Law". I nearly soiled my underwear despite the fact that I never use,or traffick,drugs.
Also,while waiting in line to get to the immigration/customs desk there was a big sign,in several languages,saying the same thing.Next to it was an "amnesty" bin. I was very tempted to drop my blood pressure meds into it...just in case.
There are at least a few countries,including Singapore,that *will* execute you for drugs...regardless of your nationality or your IQ.
On my first visit the cab driver who took me to my hotel made it a point not to annoy women. He explained that there were very strict laws that would send you to prison for annoying or bothering women.
So I didn't! ;-)
Some of the wittiest people you ever heard speak had very low IQs. Muhammed Ali for example. BEFORE he took all those punches.
I bet they don’t have a fentanyl problem.
And, yes, the signs are posted in all four official languages. That being said, I also concede that it is possible that a guy with a 69 IQ can't read . . . but that point was certainly examined during the trial and the 10 years of appeals.
Boy, good thing Grinder decided against playing for the Singapore Hatchetthrowers.
So what are you supposed to do if you are carrying drugs and you chicken out?
Are you allowed to hand them over before customs without the death sentence?
If he is sane enough to deal drugs then he is sane enough to know better.
“Are you allowed to hand them over before customs without the death sentence?”
Yes. Place them in the amnesty bin. Most nations have the same process. They even have someone you can ask what you think are legal medications but you are not sure.
Go back to the restrooms outside the customs area and flush them, I believe.
Singapore’s British-founded legal system - though not without flaws - is pretty good at figuring out who the real criminals are. Unlike the heavily politicized justice system in today’s USA.
I think a lot of these rules are in place because of the PRC Chinese who make up much of the expat community there. Especially the public urinating (and crapping) and spitting rules.
OMG when the bus tours of Chinese come through, it’s a nightmare. Individual Chinese tourists are mostly ok but the tour busses are a different matter altogether.
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