[UPDATED] M’sian on death row given until 1.45pm to pay S$20,000: lawyer

KUALA LUMPUR – The Singapore High Court has apparently granted an eleventh-hour interim stay of execution for Malaysian citizen Pausi Jefridin and another Singaporean, both initially scheduled to be hanged today, pending the filing of an appeal. 

This is provided they are able to pay S$20,000 (RM62,290) in security costs by 1.45pm, giving them just about an hour to furnish the amount. 

This is according to a Facebook post by Singaporean human rights lawyer M. Ravi, who has been following the case very closely. 

“The poor and oppressed have little access to justice. There is no rule of law in Singapore. Sucks!” he said in his post today.

Both Pausi and Singaporean Roslan Bakar were sentenced to death in Singapore for drug trafficking in 2010.

Lawyers for Liberty coordinator Zaid Malek, who is also monitoring the case, claims the two inmates are set to be executed should they fail to pay the amount in time. 

“I’m not sure if they are able to make the payment. It is indeed a very short time frame. We’ll see,” he told The Vibes. 

In his latest update on Facebook, Ravi said the Court of Appeal is convening at 3.15pm today to hear the appeal.

“The Court of Appeal is convening at 3.15pm to hear the appeal. There are already several breaches : humongous filing fees when it’s free in msia and …I’m running now from the High Court to office to assist Charles to give him the necessary support !!!!” said Ravi.

The planned hanging today comes despite heavy protests from various quarters, especially rights groups, who are seeking the Singapore government to consider granting clemency to Pausi, who has been confirmed by an expert to have a low IQ. 

The Singapore Appeals Court had yesterday dismissed Pausi and Roslan’s lawyers’ last-ditch application to have their executions halted. 

During his trial, a medical expert had informed the court that Pausi had an IQ level of 67, below the threshold of 70 to declare a person as intellectually disabled. 

Roslan, meanwhile, was found by experts to have “limited capacity for judgment and decision-making due to underlying cognitive defects.” – The Vibes, February 16, 2022