SINGAPORE human rights lawyer M. Ravi, who represented recently executed Malaysian Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, is facing numerous disciplinary charges, court actions and police investigations, rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LfL) said.

“This threatens to bring him to financial ruin, jeopardise his profession as a lawyer and brings the risk of imprisonment,” LfL chief co-ordinator Zaid Malek said in a statement today.

According to Zaid, Ravi faces seven separate professional disciplinary inquiries, which can result in him being fined, suspended or struck off the Singapore Bar.

“He also faces three contempt of court proceedings, which are ongoing, as well as separate police investigations,” Zaid said, adding that it is disturbing to witness the extent that Singapore is willing to go in order to attack Ravi for his principled stand and urged the authorities to stop.

“This can already be seen from recent instances where the mother of the late Nagaenthran and Malaysian death row inmate Datchinamurthy Kataiah were forced to conduct proceedings themselves, as there were no lawyers who were willing to represent them in court.

Meanwhile, LfL adviser N. Surendran told The Malaysian Insight that due to the disciplinary action, Ravi could at times not represent Nagaenthran.

“The authorities piled all the disciplinary inquiries and contempt cases on him and used them to temporarily suspend his licence.

“That is why Ravi could not represent Nagaenthran at the critical point last week,” Surendran said.

Nagaenthran’s final appeal at a Singapore court was dismissed on April 26 and the Malaysian was executed the following day.

His mother’s plea to be allowed to appoint a lawyer for her son was rejected by the court.

Nagaenthran, 34, had an IQ of 69, a lower-than-average score that qualifies for intellectual disability.

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

Nagaenthran was caught with a bundle of the drug strapped to his thigh when entering the city-state from Malaysia via the Woodlands checkpoint.

He was originally scheduled to be hanged in November last year but the decision sparked criticism due to his mental capacity and his lawyer mounted a last-gasp challenge at the Court of Appeal. – May 5, 2022.