[UPDATED] Nagaenthran case: lawyer alleges ‘serious conflict of interest’ involving S’pore chief justice

KUALA LUMPUR – A Malaysian lawyer is claiming a “serious conflict of interest” relating to Singaporean Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in the case of disabled Malaysian Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam who is set to hang on April 27.

N. Surendran wrote to the current Singaporean attorney-general (AG), raising the issue that Sundaresh was the island republic’s AG when Nagaenthran was convicted in 2010 and sentenced in 2011.

He added that Sundaresh was the presiding judge in Nagaenthran’s appeals in 2019 and 2021/22.

“Hence, the subsequent appeals above-stated reveal a serious conflict of interest in which the former Public Prosecutor under whose authority, knowledge and formal participation the prosecution was carried out, presided subsequently over Nagaenthran’s various appeals.

“On the face of it, this is a very serious disregard of the right to fair trial contained in Article 9(1) of the Singapore Constitution,” read the letter dated April 20.

To this, Surendran said Nagaenthran is “constitutionally entitled to a re-hearing of the matters heard and decided by Sundaresh”.

The lawyer added that Nagaenthran’s execution should be stayed and appeals re-heard.

The letter ended with Surendran claiming that the Singaporean AG will “knowingly condone or connive in an unlawful execution” after being told of Sundaresh’s history with the case.

Meanwhile, Nagaenthran’s mother Panchalai Supermaniam pleads for the public to save him in a short video in Bahasa Malaysia.

“Nagaenthran. Save him. Only then will there be some relief. Sorry he has done wrong. Everyone please help. (Nagaenthran. Selamatkan dia. Baru hati senang. Minta maaf dia sudah salah. Semua orang tolong.)

The video was by a human rights organisation known as Reprieve.

Yesterday, human rights lawyer M. Ravi revealed that Singapore will proceed with Nagaenthran’s execution on April 27, a month after the city state’s top court rejected a last-ditch appeal against his sentence.

Last month, Singapore’s appeals court dismissed Nagaenthran’s appeal against his death sentence for trafficking a small amount of heroin, ruling that it had “no factual and legal basis”.

Nagaenthran was arrested in 2009 and found guilty a year later for trafficking in 42.72g of heroin.

During his trial, it was established that Nagaenthran had an IQ of 69 but the judge ruled that he was on the borderline of having a functional intellect.

The court also came to the conclusion that Nagaenthran was aware that what he was doing was a crime. – The Vibes, April 21, 2022