Death Sentence Commutation for 'Jeojineung' Malay Drug Smuggler in Singapore

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Singaporean judicial authorities have postponed the execution of a Malaysian drug smuggler one day before the scheduled date.

According to the daily Straits Times and foreign media on the 9th, the Court of Appeal, Singapore's highest court, postponed the execution of Malaysian Nagenthran K Dharmalingam (33), which was scheduled for the 10th.

Andrew Phang Boon Leong, one of the three judges, stated during the trial, "We are aware that Nagenthran has contracted COVID-19." Judge Phang added that the hearing would be postponed until a new date is decided, and the execution would be stayed until all procedures are completed.

He mentioned reasonableness, common sense, and humanity in relation to the stay of execution. Nagenthran was arrested at a border checkpoint in April 2009 when he was 21 years old, attempting to smuggle approximately 42g of heroin wrapped around his thigh, and was sentenced to death by the High Court the following year.

However, the news of his death sentence became an international issue after a letter notifying the execution, sent by Singaporean correctional authorities to Nagenthran's mother in Malaysia last month, was posted online. Subsequently, a petition to pardon him was launched, with over 70,000 signatures, according to foreign media. The petition claims that Nagenthran was coerced into drug smuggling and should not be executed due to his low intelligence quotient (IQ) of 69.

Nagenthran argues that his mental age is below 18 and that executing someone with low intelligence is an inhumane punishment prohibited under international customary law. However, the Singaporean government does not acknowledge the claim that Nagenthran was exploited due to low intelligence.

High Court Judge See Kee Oon, who sentenced him to death, refuted the claim of low intelligence as lacking credible evidence in the media the day before. Foreign media reported that if the execution proceeds, it would be the first case since 2019.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.