NAGAENTHRAN Dharmalingam, who is on death row in Singapore for drug trafficking, should be extradited to Malaysia to face charges, civil society groups said. 

They urged the Home Ministry to use diplomatic channels to facilitate an international prisoner transfer for Nagaenthran .

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network spokesman Dobby Chew said: “The power to bring back the prisoner lies with the Home Ministry. We are sending a memorandum to the minister (Hamzah Zainudin) to start the process of bringing Nagaenthran home. 

“Under international law, those who suffer from mental problems may not be given the death sentence. But, Singapore has consistently denied that he (Nagaenthran) has any issues,” Chew said today. 

Chew and Lawyers for Liberty representatives were in Putrajaya to present a memorandum on the case to the Home Ministry. 

Dobby said they are appealing to the Malaysian government to act decisively and swiftly.

“There are a few factors that are given consideration in the international prisoner transfer process.

“In Nagaenthran’s case, the humanitarian concerns behind his case, such as his intellectual disabilities and mental health issues, make him a prime candidate for the Malaysian government to consider engaging the Singapore government to send Nagaenthran back to serve his sentence in Malaysia.”

Nagaenthran’s lawyer, M. Ravi said his client is to be executed on April 27. 

Nagaenthran, 34, has an IQ of 69, which qualifies as intellectual disability.

He was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to death in 2011 under the Misuse of Drugs Act for illegally importing 42.7g of diamorphine.

He was caught with a bundle of heroin strapped to his thigh when entering the city-state from Malaysia via the Woodlands checkpoint in April 2009.

He was originally scheduled to be hanged in November but the plan sparked criticism while his lawyer mounted a last-minute challenge at the Court of Appeal.

In November the Yang di-Pertuan Agong wrote to the Singapore president asked for clemency for Nagaenthran.

In the same month, Nagaenthran had a stay of execution extended after he tested positive for Covid-19.

On March 29, Nagaenthran lost his final appeal when his case was dismissed by the Singapore Court of Appeal. The court ruled that international laws on the execution of disabled persons did not apply in his case.  – April 22, 2022.