The Singapore Court of Appeal Tuesday rejected an appeal against the execution of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian national who was convicted of illegally importing 42.72 grams of diamorphine in 2009.
Nagaenthran’s death penalty arises out of the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA), which provides for the mandatory death penalty in cases involving over 15 grams of diamorphine. While his November execution was postponed in light of his testing positive for COVID-19, his lawyer filed a civil appeal to review the High Court’s confirmation of his sentence and a criminal motion for his intellectual disability to be assessed by a panel of psychiatrists, both in 2021.
The court dismissed both applications, finding they constituted a “blatant and egregious abuse” of process and lack of good faith as they were filed to delay the execution without basis, by adducing documents as late as possible and filing applications separately despite their content being substantially similar.
The applications were also dismissed on merits. While international law, which protects those mentally aged under 18 like Nagaenthran from execution, was invoked by his counsel, this argument was dismissed on grounds that his mental responsibility and, consequently, culpability were not diminished. Moreover, the transposition of international law into domestic law was not accepted. In domestic law, the court found, “age” exclusively meant chronological age and not mental age.
Nagaenthran’s mental faculties have been a key element of the defense. In 2013, the MDA was amended to provide for commutation if an accused drug courier suffers from “such abnormality of mind” as substantially impairs his mental responsibility. Nagaenthran, diagnosed with a borderline range of intellectual functioning, cognitive deficits, and an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of 69, applied for re-sentencing, but to no avail, as the court found he “fully knew and intended to act as he did” and did not suffer from “intellectual disability” in the technical sense.
The court also did not entertain the motion for psychiatric assessment on grounds of procedural impropriety, stating motions are meant to invoke the court’s criminal jurisdiction and not to adduce additional evidence supporting a civil appeal, especially given the evidence was not new. Moreover, any such assessment could only determine Nagaenthran’s current mental ability and not that at the time of the offense.
On Wednesday, Singapore resumed executions after nearly two years, with the hanging of Abdul Kahar bin Othman, also sentenced for drug-related offenses. Nagaenthran’s clemency plea to President Halimah Yakob and calls by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among others, have proved unsuccessful to date. An online petition to ‘Save Nagaenthran’ has over 100,000 signatures as of Thursday.
