Singapore suddenly postponed the hanging of Malaysian death row prisoners at the last minute

The above decision was approved by the court Singapore issued on April 28, just one day before defendant Datchinamurthy Kataiah (36 years old), was to be sentenced, according to AP.

Notably, before the postponement was only one day, Singapore executed another Malaysian citizen, Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, by hanging, also for the crime of trafficking in banned substances.

Death row inmate Nagaenthran has an IQ of 69 and is classified as mentally retarded. Therefore, the execution of this person is contrary to international human rights regulations. Even so, the lion island nation still executed Nagaenthran’s death sentence and this provoked a fierce international outcry.

In that context, the Supreme Court of Singapore allowed the postponement of the execution of death row prisoner Datchinamurthy Kataiah and is expected to issue a new decision on May 20.

“We are relieved to receive the decision of the Supreme Court of Singapore. In reality, this is still only a decision to postpone the execution of the sentence. Therefore, we still have to wait until a new ruling.” – said anti-death penalty campaigner Kirsten Han.

The campaigner added that death row inmate Datchinamurthy had to defend himself during the trial on April 28. The reason no lawyer wants to accept the defense is because they are concerned about the complicated issues involved after the trial, especially with the appellate sessions of the Supreme Court.

Activists pray to protest the death penalty in Singapore. Photo: EPA-EFE

Datchinamurthy was arrested in 2011 for trying to smuggle around 45g of heroin into Singapore and was sentenced to death in a country with some of the strictest anti-drug laws in the world. The Singapore government insists that the use of the death penalty for drug offenses is clearly communicated upon entry into the country.

Under Singapore law, anyone found with more than 15g of heroin faces the death penalty or could be commuted to life in prison. In Nagaenthran’s case, efforts to reduce his sentence or get a pardon from the Singapore government failed.

Malaysian leaders, representatives of the European Union and global figures such as British business magnate Richard Branson have unsuccessfully called for Nagaenthran’s sentence to be reduced. The Singapore court ruled that Nagaenthran was aware of his actions at the time of the offence.

Singapore resumed executions last month after a more than two-year hiatus due to Covid-19. The island nation imposes the death penalty for a number of crimes, including drug trafficking and murder.