KUALA LUMPUR – Singapore will be disregarding international law if it proceeds with executing the mentally disabled Malaysian Nagaenthran Dhamalingam who is convicted of drug trafficking, a rights group said.
The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (Adpan) said this was because international law expressly forbids the execution of any individual with mental or intellectual disabilities.
In a statement, Adpan executive coordinator Dobby Chew pointed to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s remark in May, in which he pledged the protection of vulnerable groups as a key priority for the government.
“Nagaenthran’s execution will be in flagrant disregard of international law,” Chew said.
“Singapore’s obligation under the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities suggests that the prime minister’s commitment to the vulnerable community does not extend to all.”
The statement came after Adpan submitted a memorandum to the Singapore Embassy in Kuala Lumpur calling for Nagaenthran’s scheduled execution to be halted and commuted.
The submission of the memorandum was made a few hours after the Singapore High Court granted a stay of execution on Nagaenthran pending a hearing at the Court of Appeal.
On Facebook, his lawyer M. Ravi shared the update over a hearing, which was presided by justice See Kee Oon, who delivered the judgement at 4pm.
Nagaenthran, who was scheduled to be executed two days from now on November 10, was arrested in Singapore on April 22, 2010, for trafficking 42.72g of diamorphine. He was handed the death penalty by the high court on November 22, 2010.
It is learnt that the 33-year-old Nagaenthran only has an IQ of 69 and suffers from impaired executive functioning and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
He has exhausted his appeal options after his presidential clemency application was rejected on June 1, 2020.
Chew said with Nagaenthran’s low IQ of 69 – which is definitive of learning disabilities – attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and severe alcohol use disorder, it is evident that Nagaenthran had a real deficit in neurocognitive functions relevant to his culpability for the offence.
“He would have had a total preoccupation with the short and immediate term, with little regard for the long-term consequences of his action,” Chew said.
“He also would have been prone to changing his account to appease interrogators.”
Chew said Singapore’s Home Ministry had also issued statements claiming that psychiatrists, including those called by the defence, have assessed Nagaenthran and concluded that he was not intellectually disabled.
Lawyers have objected to the untruth of this statement, and the law report of the case echoes the lawyers’ objections.
Chew said Nagaenthran’s mental health has also deteriorated significantly since his family visited him in 2019.
“A family member who had visited him also alleged that Nagaenthran had been prescribed medication for his condition. However, the nature of his condition, diagnosis, and the prescription was not known nor informed to the family.”
“The new information raises additional concerns on the legality of the execution.” – The Vibes, November 8, 2021
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