SINGAPORE: Singapore’s top court on Tuesday stayed the execution of the sentence of a 33-year-old Indian-origin man convicted of drug smuggling after he was found to be corona infected. The convict was sentenced to death and is believed to be mentally ill.
Nagendran’s Dharmalingam was to be hanged on Wednesday for drug smuggling. But the High Court of Singapore suspended the date of hanging him till the online hearing on his appeal is completed.
Dharmalingam was brought to the Appellate Court to hear the final appeal against his death sentence. He was sentenced to death 11 years ago. He was taken back shortly after and a judge told the court that Dharmalingam was found to be corona infected.
Justice Andrew Fang, Justice Judith Prakash and Justice Kannan Ramesh said that this is unexpected. The judge said that the court is of the view that in the present circumstances it is not right to move towards the execution of the death penalty. Justice Fang said, if the applicant has become corona infected, then we are of the opinion that he cannot be hanged.
He deferred the hearing of the case but the next date has not been fixed yet. He said that till the hearing goes on, the applicant will not be hanged. The details of when Dharmalingam was found to be corona infected has not been given.
Dharmalingam was sentenced to death in 2010 for bringing 42.75 grams of heroin to Singapore in 2009. He failed to get relief in High Court in 2011, Supreme Court in 2019 and President in 2019. The matter came into the international limelight as the time drew near for the hanging of Dharmalingam.
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yakob wrote a letter to his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, along with human rights organizations, tried to get him relief in the matter. More than 70 thousand people have signed the online petition demanding his apology. It has been said in this application that he committed this crime under pressure and his IQ is also just 69.