A mentally disabled Malaysian man will be hanged in Singapore next week after losing a last-ditch appeal, his sister said Wednesday, despite an international outcry about his case.<\/p>\n
Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for trafficking a small amount of heroin into the city-state, which has some of the worlds toughest drugs laws, and handed a death sentence the following year.<\/p>\n
But the plan to hang him sparked widespread criticism due to concerns about his intellectual disabilities, with the European Union and British billionaire Richard Branson among those condemning it.<\/p>\n
After a years-long legal battle, the 34-year-old lost his final appeal last month, when judges rejected arguments that executing a man with mental disabilities contravenes international law.<\/p>\n
His family has now been informed he will be executed on Wednesday next week, his sister Sarmila Dharmalingam told AFP.<\/p>\n
Family members, including his mother and three siblings, will travel to the city-state to see him beforehand, she said.<\/p>\n
M. Ravi, a Singapore-based human rights lawyer assisting in the case, said the news of Nagaenthrans looming execution was heartbreaking.<\/p>\n
The Singapore state will never be able to recover from the disgrace its going to face internationally in hanging an intellectually disabled person, he said in a social media post.<\/p>\n
Last month, the city-state conducted its first execution since 2019 when it hanged a drug trafficker, and fears are growing that several more people will be put to death in the coming months.<\/p>\n
As well as Nagaenthran, three other men convicted of drugs offences have had their final appeals rejected.<\/p>\n
Nagaenthran was arrested at the age of 21 after a bundle of heroin weighing about 43 grams (one and a half ounces) equivalent to about three tablespoons was found strapped to his thigh as he sought to enter Singapore.<\/p>\n
Supporters say he has an IQ of 69 a level recognised as a disability and was coerced into committing the crime.<\/p>\n
Singapore maintains the death penalty for several offences, including drug trafficking and murder, and insists it has helped to keep the city-state one of Asias safest places.<\/p>\n
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Singapore to hang mentally disabled man next week: family - Macau Business<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A mentally disabled Malaysian man will be hanged in Singapore next week after losing a last-ditch appeal, his sister said Wednesday, despite an international outcry about his case. Nagaenthran K. Continue reading