Pressure mounts on Singapore to halt the execution of autistic man

Human rights activists have appealed to the Singapore government to stop the scheduled execution of Nagaenthran a/l K Dharmalingam.

Angelia Pranthaman, president of NGO Sebaran Kasih had said that Nagaenthran’s sentence should be re-evaluated, considering his state of mind.

33 year old Nagaenthran was convicted in 2011 of illegally importing 42.72g of diamorphine and sentenced to death under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Reports have stated that Nagaenthran went to seek help from a friend for a loan of RM 500 to pay for his father’s upcoming heart surgery. He was then coerced to become a drug mule by the friend who assaulted him and threatened to kill his girlfriend.

The Malaysian was diagnosed with borderline intellectual disability with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with an IQ of 69 by a psychiatrist.

On the morning of 28 October 2021, Nagaenthran’s mother, who is from Ipoh, received a letter dated 26 October from the Singapore Prison Service informing her that her son would be executed on 10 November.

“Even though it was repeatedly proven that the death penalty is not effective, yet still many countries are still sentencing people to death especially in Asia.” Angelia said in a statement, whose brother Pannir Selvam is also on death row in Singapore’s Changi prison.

With Malaysia accepted in the United Nations Human Rights Council she also urged the Minister of Foreign Affairs walk the talk by interfering to stop the execution.

“Nagaenthran’s issue is only the tip of the iceberg, we can’t deny that many Malaysian are on death row abroad waiting to be executed. Malaysia has to play an active role in caring for their citizen, not neglecting those on death row in foreign countries.” she added.

On Wednesday, Angelia together with dozens of activist held a protest at the Parliament building to highlight the plight of Nagaenthran and hand over a memorandum to Malaysian Foreign Affairs minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

In the memorandum, the groups raised concerns surrounding Nagaenthran’s complaint that he was threatened by a third party who handed him the drugs.

“It can be said that it would not only be wrong to execute Nagaenthran because of the circumstances surrounding the case and the official sentiments shared by these esteemed organisations and bodies, but also that it is incredibly excessive to administer the death penalty to an intellectually disabled individual given their personal culpability,” the memorandum said.

Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah in a statement said has sent a letter to his counterpart in Singapore with regards to the death sentence.

“The ministry via the Malaysia High Commissioner in Singapore will continue to monitor any updates on the case and will provide necessary assistance to Mr Nagaenthran and his family,” he said.

Meanwhile an online petition set up by human rights advocate Olivia Seow on Oct 29, asking President Halimah Yacob for clemency on Nagaenthran’s verdict has garnered more than 38,000 signatures as at 6pm today.

“Given that Nagaenthran is intellectually disabled, committed a non-violent crime, and was allegedly coerced by assaults and threats, we sincerely appeal for President Halimah Yacob to uphold Singapore’s commitment to the UNCRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) by pardoning Nagaenthran’s death sentence,” the petition read.

In response, The Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has rejected his account of being coerced under duress and held the High Court and Court of Appeal verdict that Nagaenthran took the “calculated risk” to pay off his debt and clearly understood that what he did was a crime.