SINGAPORE, Nov 9 — Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, a 33-year old Malaysian who was scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday (Nov 10) for drug trafficking found temporary respite, after the court was told he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Following the dramatic turn of events, Nagaenthran who hails from Perak was granted a further stay of execution by the Court of Appeal.
Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, had appeared in the court for a last-bid attempt against his death sentence after being on the death row for 11 years.
“The Court of Appeal has ordered a stay of execution. I filed another application at the 11th hour,” his lawyer M Ravi said in his latest update on his Facebook page today.
As the court was about to rise, it was informed that Nagenthran was hit by COVID, he added.
On Monday (Nov 8), the Singapore High Court had granted a stay of execution to Nagaenthran pending the hearing at the Court of Appeal against the decision of the High Court.
Todays’ hearing was urgently convened before a three-judge Court of Appeal, namely Justice Andrew Phang Boon Leong, Justice Judith Prakash, and Justice Kannan Ramesh.
According to The Straits Times, Nagaenthran was briefly brought to the dock before he was led away.
When the court session started, Justice Phang was reportedly said: “We understand that he has tested positive for COVID-19.”
Phang said the court will adjourn the hearing to a date to be fixed and issue a stay of execution until all proceedings have been concluded.
Nagaenthran was arrested in 2009 for bringing 42.72 grams (1.5 ounces) of heroin into Singapore.
His lawyers claim that he is intellectually disabled. He was sentenced to death by the High Court on Nov 22, 2010. The process of appeal went through to the final stage, and his application for presidential clemency was rejected on June 1, 2020.
Nagaenthran’s case had drawn international attention and on Sunday (Nov 7), it was reported that Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had written to his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong seeking leniency in this case.
— Bernama
