SINGAPORE – Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan have replied to their Malaysian counterparts to convey that the Malaysian awaiting execution for a drug offence in the city-state has been accorded full due process under the law.
This is according to a statement issued by Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Ministry in response to media queries on the appeal letters from Malaysian leaders on the judicial execution of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, a 33-year old Malaysian from Perak.
Both Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah had earlier written to their Singapore counterparts, requesting for the discretion of the authorities in the city-state to grant presidential clemency to Nagaenthran.
Saifuddin was reported as saying: “In this case, I have to repeat, we can apply, through our means, (by) sending a letter, but we cannot interfere in terms of the affairs and legal processes in Singapore,” he told reporters, adding that Malaysia respects Singapore’s legal processes.
Nagaenthran was arrested by Singaporean authorities on April 22, 2009, for smuggling 42.72g of diamorphine and was sentenced to death by the Singapore High Court on November 22, 2010.
The appeal process through the court has already been made by Nagaenthran’s family lawyer up to the final stage, which is the presidential clemency that was rejected on June 1, 2020.
Nagaenthran, who has been in the death row for 11 years and scheduled to be hanged on November 10, 2021, however, found temporary respite on November 9 after the court was told he had tested positive for Covid-19 when he appeared for a last-bid attempt against his sentence.
Following the dramatic turn of events, Nagaenthran was granted a further stay of execution by the Court of Appeal. – Bernama, November 12, 2021
