THERE seems to be difference between justice and compassion if one perceives it through a binary mind, but justice and compassion are integrated values that deal with reality from a broader perspective.

This comes to light after the hanging of Singapore death row prisoner Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 34, from Perak, who was said to have had an IQ of 69, which qualifies as a disability.

He was convicted of smuggling 42.7gm of heroin into the country.

I was criticised on Facebook for saying that even though a particular city state has progressed significantly in the social-economic sphere, it is still poor in compassion.

A social platform user said that the authorities had shown enough compassion in giving the accused enough time and opportunity to defend himself. 

In my reply I stated that what was given to Nagaenthran was the due process of justice, but compassion should transcend justice, taking into consideration the situation of the accused which requires discretion on the part of a judicial system rather than outright condemnation to death. 

Years ago, when I was working at a factory, there was a particular worker who was detained for few days on suspicion of drug use. When he was released, I asked him about his experience in detention. He told me there was a person in the cell with him detained for drug offences, who said that he would still sell drugs in his next life because since it was a lucrative business.

I wondered at the time why the top wealthy drug dealers and syndicates who bankroll the people to sell harmful drugs were not caught while those from the lower strata are punished. 

It was not just the poor IQ of Nagaenthran that should have be taken into consideration in deciding whether to proceed with capital punishment, but the the socio-economic context and the system itself that lets the rich drug lords are get away with recruiting the poor and vulnerable to commit crime. 

It is time that the authorities do away with the rigid approach to justice and take a broader perspective of addressing drug crimes.

There is a need to do away with the death penalty that seems to target the most vulnerable, what more a disabled human being.

Justice cannot be divorced from discernment and compassion. The rigid justice of sentencing the vulnerable has prevented the judicial system from addressing the reality of drug crimes from a broader perspective. – April 28, 2022.

* Ronald Benjamin is Association for Welfare, Community and Dialogue secretary.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.