On execution eve, death row inmate’s mother sues Singapore chief justice
Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, 34, is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday. His mother Panchalai Supermaniam, 60, has filed a last-minute suit to halt the execution.
GEORGE TOWN: The mother of a Malaysian death row inmate in Singapore has filed a last-minute attempt to halt the execution, pending a hearing of her case against the republic’s chief justice over a possible conflict of interest.
The inmate, Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, 34, is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday. The mother’s suit is to be heard tomorrow.
In a last-minute attempt to halt the execution, his mother has filed the suit, saying there was a possible clash of interest as the chief justice was the attorney-general when Nagaenthran was charged and convicted with drug trafficking in 2011.
The mother, Panchalai Supermaniam, 60, will appear tomorrow at Singapore’s highest court, the Court of Appeal, to argue the case on her own.
A spokesman for Panchalai said she would represent herself and would argue the case without a lawyer because no lawyer wanted to appear on the record against the chief justice, Sundaresh Menon.
Menon had turned down several appeals made by the family against the execution, previous news reports have said.
According to the notice of motion filed today, Panchalai said the court must look into Menon’s role as attorney-general when Nagaenthran was charged and convicted. Menon was attorney-general between 2010 and 2012.
Panchalai contends that the charge and conviction was against the Singapore constitution’s guarantees on life and personal liberty, and seeks a declaration that the sentencing was unconstitutional.
Nagaenthran has been on death row since 2010. He was convicted on a charge of smuggling 42.72gm of heroin into Singapore.
During the trial, he was declared to be a person suffering from an intellectual disability with an IQ of 69. However, the court found him to be not “substantially impaired” and said that he knew fully well that he was carrying out an illegal act, according to previous reports.
GEORGE TOWN: The mother of a Malaysian death row inmate in Singapore has filed a last-minute attempt to halt the execution, pending a hearing of her case against the republic’s chief justice over a possible conflict of interest.
The inmate, Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, 34, is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday. The mother’s suit is to be heard tomorrow.
In a last-minute attempt to halt the execution, his mother has filed the suit, saying there was a possible clash of interest as the chief justice was the attorney-general when Nagaenthran was charged and convicted with drug trafficking in 2011.
The mother, Panchalai Supermaniam, 60, will appear tomorrow at Singapore’s highest court, the Court of Appeal, to argue the case on her own.
A spokesman for Panchalai said she would represent herself and would argue the case without a lawyer because no lawyer wanted to appear on the record against the chief justice, Sundaresh Menon.
Menon had turned down several appeals made by the family against the execution, previous news reports have said.
According to the notice of motion filed today, Panchalai said the court must look into Menon’s role as attorney-general when Nagaenthran was charged and convicted. Menon was attorney-general between 2010 and 2012.
Panchalai contends that the charge and conviction was against the Singapore constitution’s guarantees on life and personal liberty, and seeks a declaration that the sentencing was unconstitutional.
Nagaenthran has been on death row since 2010. He was convicted on a charge of smuggling 42.72gm of heroin into Singapore.
During the trial, he was declared to be a person suffering from an intellectual disability with an IQ of 69. However, the court found him to be not “substantially impaired” and said that he knew fully well that he was carrying out an illegal act, according to previous reports.
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