Singaporean authorities have moved forward with the execution of an intellectually-disabled Nigerian man arrested on drug charges after they rejected a long-running campaign for clemency.
The man, identified as Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, was a Malaysian individual who had learning disabilities. He was convicted of drug trafficking in 2010 and his case attracted international attention.
Execution of Intellectually-Disabled Malaysian Man
Officials executed the suspect in Singapore's Changi prison, years after he was arrested when police discovered a bundle of 42.7 grams of heroin strapped to his thigh. Dharmalingam was hanged just before dawn on Wednesday, his family said.
The brother of the suspect, Navin Kumar, said in an interview that the body of Dharmalingam will be sent back to Malaysia. He added that they plan to hold a funeral that will be held in the northern town of Ipoh.
The execution order came after Singapore's Court of Appeal immediately dismissed an effort by the 33-year-old's mother to stay the decision. In a statement, the judges said that her last-minute plea was "vexatious," as per Aljazeera.
Justifying the decision, the city-state's government said that its use of the death penalty for drug crimes is made very clear at the border. In a statement, the suspect's sister, Sarmila Dharmalingam, said that Malaysia was far more humane than Singapore because of the decision to execute her brother.
Supporters and lawyers of the man said that he had an IQ score of 69 and was considered to be intellectually disabled. They argued that the execution of a mentally ill individual was prohibited under international human rights law.
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According to the Associated Press, Singapore courts cited psychiatrists' testimony that Dharmalingam was not mentally disabled and was able to understand his actions at the time of his crime. The director of the non-governmental organization Reprieve, Maya Foa, said that Dharmalingam will go down in history as the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice.
Refusal to Accept Clemency Appeal
The suspect's lawyer previously filed several appeals to try to overturn the execution that were rejected by the Singaporean court. Authorities said that there was "no admissible evidence showing any decline in the appellant's mental condition after the commission of the offense."
At the end of the last hearing, Dharmalingam and his family cried as they grasped each other's hands through a gap in a glass screen. People in the courtroom could hear the suspect's cries of "ma" which means "mother."
Foa's statement added that Dharmalingam was coerced to carry less than three tablespoons of diamorphine, calling his execution unjustifiable and a flagrant violation of international laws that Singapore has agreed to uphold. He added that the suspect's last days were spent in torturous isolation of solitary confinement.
Dharmalingam had to seek the court's permission to hold his family's hands one final time yesterday before his execution. The situation is a result of Singapore having one of the strictest drug laws in the world.
For example, trafficking 15 grams of heroin into the country mandates a death sentence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. it was only recently, and after the beginning of Dharmalingam's case, did the law get amended to allow for a convicted person to escape the death penalty in certain circumstances, CNN reported.
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