Singapore’s death penalty for drug crimes under scrutiny as disabled smuggler awaits his fate

Executing Nagaenthran Dharmalingam will not address Singapore’s drug trafficking problem but could damage the country’s reputation, writes Arpan Rai

An activist holding a placard at a recent vigil for Dharmalingam in Malaysia’s capital (EPA-EFE)

Had Nagaenthran Dharmalingam not caught Covid-19 earlier this month, the Malaysian man with learning disabilities would have been executed by Singapore for smuggling a small amount of heroin into the country.

The 33-year-old was convicted in 2009 and has been on death row for more than a decade for trafficking 43 grams of heroin.

Dharmalingam was due to be hanged on 10 November but a court stayed the execution for reasons of “common sense and humanity” after confirming he had contracted Covid-19.

For now, Dharmalingam – whose IQ of 69 is recognised as a mental disability and has other disorders affecting his decision-making – remains in Singapore’s Changi prison.

Activists and family members are working tirelessly to advocate for his life as they prepare for a hearing at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday.

Singapore’s top court will hear Dharmalingam’s appeal against the death sentence, which if rejected, could again put him at immediate risk of being sent to the gallows.

The case has sparked anger worldwide, with Singaporean activists, UN experts, international rights groups and legal organisations asking for the execution to be halted.

“There are plenty of reasons why this execution should not take place and Covid-19 is not the main one,” says Kirsten Han, a human rights journalist in Singapore.

Singapore’s judiciary has been steadfast in its decision to hang Dharmalingam for being involved in the illicit drug trade – albeit in a small capacity – that it wants to eliminate.

The country regards drug trafficking as a serious crime, minister of foreign affairs Vivian Balakrishnan told the UN general assembly in 2016.

“We are situated in a region with major drug production and trafficking centres, putting us at the forefront of the struggle against drugs,” he said at the time.

Nagaenthran Dharmalingam holding his nephew at a celebration in Malaysia (Photo courtesy of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam’s family)

Capital punishment for drug-related offences and murder had been a key element in keeping Singapore drug free and safe, the minister said. He asserted that it is probably one of the few countries in the world which has successfully tackled the drug trade.

Except that it has not.

Singapore’s own data shows that at least 3,056 people were arrested for drug abuse in 2020, down from 3,526 in 2019. This is up by around three-fold from such statistics for the mid-2000s.

In addition to Dharmalingam, at least 50 other people are awaiting execution in Singapore after being convicted of drug trafficking-related charges.

From 2016 to 2019, the country hanged 25 people – the majority for drug-related offences, according to official data. There were no executions last year.

Anyone found with over 15 grams (0.5 ounces) of heroin faces the death sentence in Singapore, although judges can reduce this to life in prison at their discretion.

Several business leaders and high-profile magnates have come forward and spoken out, urging Singapore to re-evaluate its decision and spare the mentally unfit man.

You cannot execute a person with any form of mental or intellectual disability

N Surendran, Lawyers for Liberty

Tony Fernandes, chief executive officer of AirAsia Group, said the region’s “death penalty addiction” is a stain on its international reputation.

“The death penalty, in all of its oppressive cruelty, should have been confined to history a long time ago. Yet it persists around the world – including right here in ASEAN. We must do everything in our power to end it, and I am proud to join the business voices speaking out against this barbaric law,” Mr Fernandes told The Independent.

"While capital punishment has been in retreat in many parts of the world, Asian countries are outliers in their use of the death penalty for non-violent drug offences, practising an outmoded ‘zero-tolerance’ approach that has woefully failed," he added.

But the bigger humanitarian concern at stake is Dharmalingam’s intellectual disability.

“Proceeding with the execution of a man who may not have fully understood the consequences of his actions, nor his rights in court, would cast serious doubts on Singapore’s willingness to uphold international law,” said British businessman Richard Branson.

“[It would] undoubtedly be a setback for a country that prides itself with its commitment to the rule of law,” Mr Branson has said in a detailed plea to Singapore authorities, asking them to stop the execution of Dharmalingam.

Experts say that if Dharmalingam goes to the gallows, Singapore would be betraying its own constitution, as Article 9 states that a person has a right to life.

“Singapore is signed and ratified to the UN Convention of Rights of Person with Disability (CPRD) which means that has been imported into their Article 9 which talks about right to life,” said N Surendran, founder of Malaysian rights and legal group Lawyers for Liberty.

“That means you cannot execute a person with any form of mental or intellectual disability.”

Authorities have said Singapore courts were satisfied Dharmalingam knew what he was doing.

Millions of people across the world have joined the chorus of voices asking Singaporean authorities to halt the death sentence.

Millions of people worldwide have urged Singapore to stop the execution (EPA-EFE)

Experts also say that Dharmalingam’s motives and the minor nature of the crime should be taken into account.

“He took the money [from the drug deal] to cover his father’s medical bills and it was merely 500 bucks. You need to look at the amount of money he has stood to gain, look at the reasons,” said Gloria Lai, regional director for Asia at the International Drug Policy Consortium.

“You will not see the people who run the drug trade making such runs to transfer packets of heroin. The drug lords who are running this trade with the help of desperate people like Dharmalingam – because these people need money badly to support their families – will not enter an airport with a packet attached to their thigh,” she added.

And by putting a drug mule like Dharmaligam on death row, Singapore is not solving the problem, she added.

Ms Han – the journalist – said the government is “extremely stubborn” in its approach towards the death penalty.

“It is very certain that it works and claiming that it works. It has stuck to this overarching kind of narrative that [the] death penalty works, we should keep at it and people in the country believe that because it executes people so often,” she said.

Dharmalingam’s brother says he fluctuates between being aware of his execution order and yearning to return home for a home-cooked meal.

His sister – Sarmila Dharmalingam – hopes her brother will get a “second chance” at life.

“We hope for the best. Day by day, we are struggling with fear ... For now, we can relax just a little bit, but we still don’t have peace,” she said.

The Independent and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to the death penalty in the US. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty – with The Independent as the latest on the list. We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage.