The government of Singapore on Wednesday, 27 April, executed an Indian-origin man named Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, convicted of drug smuggling after the Court of Appeal refused to hear a last-minute plea from his mother, Panchalai Supermaniam, to spare him given that he suffered from a learning disability.
Using a translator to issue a last-minute plea to the three-judge panel, Supermaniam said, "I am Nagaenthran's mother. I want my son back alive, Your Honour. We are in dire straits now."
The 34-year-old had been on death row for more than 10 years after he was found guilty of importing 42.72 grams of heroin in 2009.
Justices Andrew Phang, Judith Prakash and Belinda Ang, while dismissing the mother's petition, said, "There must come a time when the last word of the court is the last word".
"This a last-minute application, brought just two days before the scheduled execution, and is the seventh application (not including appeals) brought by Nagaenthran after his appeal against conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in 2011 more than 10 years ago," Singapore's Attorney General's Chambers said today, as reported by PTI.
There were also international pleas, including from activists in the United Nations, to spare Dharmalingam, who was hanged at Changi Prison.
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson was quoted by Financial Times as saying: “It is the longstanding policy of the UK government to oppose the death penalty. The UK government has raised concerns with the government of Singapore about the resumption of executions, including the case of Mr Nagaenthran.”
Nagaenthran Dharmalingam becomes the second death-row prisoner in the country to be executed this year after Abdul Kahar bin Othman, who was also hanged at Changi last month.
Othman too was convicted of drug trafficking.
Another Malaysian man convicted of crimes related to drugs – Datchinamurthy Kataiah – will be executed in Singapore on Friday, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
"In lifestyle, in everything, Singapore is considered a very good country," said Kataiah’s sister, Sathirani.
The death penalty, however, “is a black dot on Singapore," she added, as reported by FT.
(With inputs from PTI, FT and the Sydney Morning Herald)
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