KUALA LUMPUR – The European Union has condemned Singapore for executing Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam and at the same time, called for clemency for another Malaysian man Datchinamurthy Kataiah.
In a brief statement, an EU spokesman urged Singapore to stop the execution of Datchinamurthy, who is on death row for drug offences, and scheduled to be hanged on Friday.
“We call on Singapore to adopt a moratorium on all executions and to join the worldwide trend to abolish capital punishment.”
The EU spokesman said the bloc has called on the authorities to halt the upcoming execution and to commute it to a lighter punishment.
“As a matter of principle, the European Union strongly opposes the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances. It is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity.”
The spokesman also said the EU will continue to work for the abolition of the death penalty in countries that practice this form of punishment.
The hanging at around 6am in the republic’s Changi Prison was carried out despite global condemnation and last-minute appeals from family and lawyers.
Nagaenthran, who was arrested in 2009 for trafficking 42.72g of heroin into the city-state, was certified during his trial to have an IQ of 69.
However, the trial judge ruled that he was on the borderline of having a functional intellect and the court concluded that he was aware he was committing a crime.
A last-ditch clemency application by Nagaenthran to overturn his 2010 conviction was dismissed by Singapore’s Court of Appeal yesterday evening. – The Vibes, April 27, 2022
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