Nagaenthran Dharmalingam Cause Of Death
Nagaenthran Dharmalingam was hanged to death on drugs charges in Singapore
What Happened To Nagaenthran Dharmalingam?
Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian with intellectual difficulties convicted of narcotics trafficking in 2010 and whose case drew worldwide attention, was hanged in Singapore’s Changi prison.
Nagaenthran was hanged just before dawn on Wednesday, according to his family, after police discovered a bag of 42.7 grams (1.5 ounces) of heroin tied to his thigh.
His attorneys were granted a last-minute appeal, arguing that the 33-year-old should not be executed due to his IQ of 69, which made it difficult for him to make intelligent decisions.
They demanded that their client be evaluated by a psychiatric professional.
Hearings had been postponed after Nagaenthran was diagnosed with COVID-19 and his lawyer was placed on medical leave, but the case was dismissed on Tuesday by the court, which said it was “completely without merit.”
They dismissed affidavits from Nagaenthran’s brother and lawyer indicating his disorientation and confusion, claiming that the two were “interested parties” who were not equipped to assess an individual’s mental state.
However, the court found a jail official’s assessment of Nagaenthran’s mental state valid, stating that the officer would not want the Malaysian executed.
The Transformative Justice Collective, which works to transform Singapore’s criminal justice system, expressed its disappointment with the judgment.
The court also charged the defense attorneys with “blatant and egregious misuse of the court processes,” saying it was “improper to engage in or support last-ditch attempts” to postpone or stop an execution.
Naganenthran’s defense lawyers were granted leave to pursue fees from the prosecution.
“As long as the law validly provides for the imposition of capital punishment in the specified circumstances,” the appeal court said in its decision, “it is improper for counsel to abuse the court’s process and thus brings the administration of criminal justice into disrepute by filing one hopeless application after another and drip-feeding the alleged evidence.”
Nagaenthran’s case has sparked international debate, with the Malaysian government, UN experts, the European Union, and civil society organizations all disputing his sentencing.
Despite changes to sentencing standards that allow judges to give a life sentence instead of the statutory death penalty in some cases, Singapore’s drug laws remain among the harshest in the world.
Nagaenthran’s interrogation after his detention was a source of concern for UN experts, who noted that he was denied “procedural accommodations for his impairment during his interrogation.”
They also stated that persons with severe psychosocial and intellectual problems should not be subjected to the death penalty.
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