Singapore Death Row Man's Family Pleads For His Life

Tanjung Rambutan, Malaysia, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Nov, 2021 ) :The sister of a Malaysian man facing imminent execution despite concerns he is mentally disabled has pleaded with Singapore to give him a "second chance".

Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, sentenced to death in 2010 for trafficking a small amount of heroin into Singapore, was originally set to be hanged last week after losing a series of appeals.

The execution in the city-state, which has some of the world's toughest drugs laws, was postponed after the 33-year-old contracted the coronavirus, but campaigners fear the delay will be short.

His family are not giving up, however, with his sister Sarmila Dharmalingam urging the city-state to "give him a second chance".

"We hope the Singapore government will spare his life," the 35-year-old told AFP in an interview Sunday from the family home in Tanjung Rambutan, in the northern Malaysian state of Perak.

"He is suffering from an intellectual disability." Nagaenthran's case has sparked a storm of criticism, with the European Union and United Nations rights experts speaking out against it, and a clemency petition getting around 85,000 signatures.

A last-ditch court challenge is being mounted and while chances of success look slim, Sarmila and her family are holding out hope.

"All our family members are holding prayers for his life to be spared," said the housewife, who is ethnic Indian and a member of the Hindu minority in mostly Muslim Malaysia.

"I believe in miracles... With God's grace, a miracle will happen."