Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, a mentally disabled man, was executed in Singapore on Wednesday over drug trafficking charges, know his IQ, family and last photo
Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, a mentally disabled Indian-Malaysian man, was executed in Singapore on Wednesday after a court dismissed a last-minute challenge from his mother and international pleas to spare him.
Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam Execution News, Funeral, Last Photo, Biography, Age, Family, IQ, Disability, Singapore Death Penalty Explained
Malaysia’s leader, European Union authorities, and international celebrities such as British business billionaire Richard Branson had all urged for Nagaenthran’s life to be spared, and have used the case to push for the abolition of the death penalty.
Here’s what we know about him:
Who Was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam?
Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, born on 13 September 1988, and currently aged 33 years was a Malaysian Indian who was convicted of trafficking 42.72 grammes of heroin in April 2009 after he entered Singapore from Malaysia with a package of heroin strapped to his thigh at Woodlands Checkpoint. His lawyers argued that he had a low IQ of 69, one considered below the average lewel.
Rest In Peace, Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam.
Before an execution, family members are allowed to buy clothes for the prisoner to wear at a photo shoot. The photos are given to the family shortly before, or after execution.
Navin says this was Nagen’s favourite outfit and photo. pic.twitter.com/wYXfqinIIn
— Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 (@kixes) April 27, 2022
BREAKING: Nagaenthran Dharmalingam has been executed.
His name will go down in history as the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice.
Hanging an intellectually disabled man because he was coerced into carrying less than 3 tablespoons of diamorphine is clearly unjustifiable🧵 pic.twitter.com/j3t5YSpn1C
— Reprieve (@Reprieve) April 27, 2022
Singapore executed an intellectually disabled man for bringing 1.5 ounces of heroin into the country in 2009, despite his mother's plea and global outcry.
Nagaenthran Dharmalingam is the 2nd person to be executed for drug-related offenses in Singapore over the last 2 years. pic.twitter.com/wEfPPfhVpf
— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 27, 2022
Nagaenthran admitted to perpetrating the act but claimed in comments that he was forced to do so by a mastermind who beat him and threatened to kill his girlfriend. Before subsequently denying any knowledge of the contents of his package, he said he did so to collect money to pay off his debts.
He was a native of Ipoh and he has two younger brothers, one elder sister and a mother in the family. He has a 69 IQ and various mental illnesses that affect his decision-making. He was executed on 27th April 2022 and his family and social activists confirmed this.
Nagaenthran, a Malaysian of ethnic Indian origin, grew up in Malaysia’s Perak state, along with his mother, a cleaner, and a closely connected extended family. Later, he worked as a security guard in Singapore and Malaysia before spending 13 years in prison.
His mother was named Panchalai Supermaniam while his brother was Navin with a funeral said to be held in Ipoh.
1. Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam's remains arrived at his hometown in Perak late last night from Singapore.
The Vibes reported Nagaenthran's sister Sarmila as urging politicians and lawmakers to not come to Nagaenthran's wake and funeral for publicity. https://t.co/askxWnKPkY
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) April 28, 2022
Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam Singapore Death Sentence And Penalty Explained
As late as Tuesday afternoon, only hours before the execution, his mother Panchalai Supermaniam mounted a last-ditch effort to buy more time, representing herself as she told Singapore’s highest court: “I want my son back alive.”
He had been on execution row for nearly a decade after being found guilty of smuggling 1.5 ounces of heroin into Singapore. The leadership of the city-state has stated that its usage of the death sentence for drug offences is made explicit within its boundaries.
His friends and attorneys claimed he was intellectually disabled and had an IQ of 69, and that the execution of a mentally ill individual was illegal under international human rights law.
However, Singapore’s courts determined, based on testimony from psychiatrists, that he was not mentally ill and that he was aware of his activities at the time of his crime.
Nagaenthran and his mother filed a motion on Monday, claiming that carrying out his death sentence was unconstitutional and that he may not have received a fair trial because the chief justice who presided over his appeals was the attorney general when Nagaenthran was convicted in 2010, posing a conflict of interest, according to the filing.
The application was denied because it was “frivolous,” according to the court. Nagaenthran’s remains will be sent to his homeland in Malaysia’s northern state of Perak, where burial arrangements have already been planned.
Singapore had put a two-year halt because of the COVID-19 outbreak before reinstating them in March with the execution of a drug trafficker.
What Does The Singapore Law Say?
In Singapore, anybody caught with more than a half-ounce of heroin receives the death penalty, however, judges can lower this to life in prison at their discretion. Attempts to get Nagaenthran’s sentence reduced or to secure a presidential pardon were unsuccessful.
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