Lagatar24 Desk
Changi, Nov.9: A Singapore court on Tuesday postponed the execution of a Indian origin Malaysian man, who advocates claim is mentally impaired, after testing positive for COVID-19, thereby ruling out any chance of a last-ditch appeal.
In 2009, Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam was caught for smuggling a little amount of heroin into the city-state, which has some of the strictest drug prohibitions in the world.
He was 21 when he was caught for drug trafficking at the Woodlands checkpoint on the Singapore-Peninsula Malaysia causeway, with a bundle of drugs strapped to his thigh.
In November 2010, Nagaenthran was found guilty and sentenced to death for smuggling 42.72 grammes of heroin in 2009.
When more than 15 grammes of heroin is imported, the Misuse of Drugs Act allows for the death penalty.
Despite rising international anger and supporters’ allegations that his intellectual handicap prevents him from making reasonable decisions, he was set to be hanged on Wednesday after losing a series of appeals.
The execution was halted when a last-ditch appeal was filed in the Court of Appeal that was scheduled to hear the case on Tuesday.
Judge Andrew Phang Boon Leong informed the court that Nagaenthran had contracted Covid-19 before the hearing could begin.
“We have to issue a stay of execution,” he said. There was no immediate indication of how long the stay would last for.
According to the Straits Times, the matter was brought to light late last month when Nagaenthran’s mother received a letter from the Singapore Prison Service on October 26 alerting her that her son’s death sentence would be carried out on November 10.
