Who is Datchinamurthy Kataiah and why is he on death row in S’pore?

KUALA LUMPUR – As Malaysians mourn yesterday’s execution of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam in Singapore, we are reminded of another fellow citizen who is due to share his fate at dawn tomorrow. 

Despite an ongoing case in the Singapore High Court and international outcry over the death penalty, convicted drug trafficker Datchinamurthy Kataiah will be sent to the gallows in less than 24 hours.

What is Datchinamurthy guilty of?

Datchinamurthy has been on death row in Changi Prison since he was convicted by the high court for allegedly trafficking 44.96g of diamorphine. 

According to court documents, Datchinamurthy, along with Singaporean Christeen Jayamany, were arrested at the Woodlands checkpoint by the city-state authorities for allegedly trafficking across the border on January 18, 2011. 

Singapore law provides for the death penalty if the amount of heroin trafficked is more than 15g.

Datchinamurthy and Christeen were both charged and then tried in the high court for the alleged offences. According to Christeen’s account, she was facing financial difficulties and needed money to support her children.

After being introduced by others to Datchinamurthy, she accepted his “job offer”. She was then given a bag, which came with packets, and was instructed to deliver them to certain individuals.   

According to her, the packets she had received were wrapped in newspaper, secured by scotch tape and were heavy. She thought they contained “valuable” things.

Once the job was done, Christeen said Datchinamurthy would pay her S$200 (RM630.82). She also said she did not know that the packets contained drugs nor know of the nature of the drugs.  

Meanwhile, Datchinamurthy, in his defence, said he thought the drugs he was carrying were Chinese medicine and not diamorphine.  

The 36-year-old, who hails from Johor Baru, said he was offered a job by a man by the name of “Rajah”.  

After taking up the job offer, he asked Rajah out of curiosity as to the nature of the item and was told that it was “not serious drugs”.  

He added that there was brown, rocky/granular substance in the transparent packets and thought it was Chinese medicine, after checking the bag containing the packets himself.

It did not raise any suspicions and Datchinamurthy did not press for more information. In addition, Datchinamurthy was also in charge of relaying messages between Rajah and Christeen.   

According to Singapore law, if a drug convict was merely acting as a “courier” or is suffering from diminished responsibility, they will only be eligible for life imprisonment but not death.   

What was the verdict? 

The trial judge Tay Yong Kwang, on May 18, 2015, found Christeen and Datchinamurthy guilty, as both failed to rebut the presumption of knowledge. 

In Datchinamurthy’s case, Tay found that the accused failed to prove himself as a courier and sentenced him to death by hanging.  

As for Christeen, Tay found that she was certified as a courier and had substantively assisted the authorities. So, instead of imposing the death penalty, she was sentenced to life imprisonment from the date of her arrest and as a woman, she was not liable to be caned. 

Appeal, clemency plea dismissed 

An appeal to Singapore’s appellate court by Datchinamurthy was quashed on February 5, 2016, as a three-person bench determined that he had failed to rebut the legal presumption of him carrying illegal drugs and found that there was no error in convicting him of his original drug trafficking charge. 

He subsequently submitted an appeal for clemency to then Singapore President Tony Tan in 2016. However, in July 2019, his clemency plea was dismissed by President Halimah Yacob, who acted on the cabinet’s advice in not exercising the power to grant clemency.

Datchinamurthy, who was scheduled to be hanged on February 12 this year, filed a last-minute appeal for his execution date to be postponed in which he succeeded.  

What could Datchinamurthy’s fate be?

In a letter dated April 21, the Singapore government notified Datchinamurthy’s family of his execution tomorrow.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) adviser N. Surendran lambasted the Singapore government’s decision to execute Datchinamurthy tomorrow despite an ongoing court case in the high court there, saying that this constitutes contempt of court and is unlawful.   

Surendran in a statement said Datchinamurthy still has a legal challenge in the Singapore High Court, where the hearing is listed for May 20. 

Yesterday, LFL’s chief coordinator Zaid Malek said Datchinamurthy is filing a suit for a stay on his sentencing day before he is due to be executed.

Zaid said that the high court hearing is scheduled via video conferencing at 9.30am this morning, which is on the eve of the execution.

The application, he said, is being made through a judicial review to prohibit Friday’s execution on the grounds that it is unlawful to take him to the gallows while he still has another legal challenge pending.  

Zaid said Datchinamurthy had made and filed the action himself through Changi Prison. He will be arguing his own case, as he and his family have been unable to secure the services of a lawyer.  

He alleged that lawyers in Singapore are afraid to represent death row prisoners due to fear of reprisals from the attorney-general and the courts. – The Vibes, April 28, 2022