Singapore executes mentally-disabled Malaysian Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam after court dismisses last-ditch appeal

The 34-year-old, who had an IQ of 69, was in prison in the city state since being detained in 2009 for bringing in 43 grams of heroin

He was hanged on Wednesday after his mother’s last-ditch legal challenge failed, as did appeals by the UN, British billionaire Richard Branson and others

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Activists hold a candlelight vigil on Tuesday night against the death penalty for Malaysian national Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam outside Singapore’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 9:24pm, 26 Apr 2022Updated: 12:08am, 28 Apr 2022

A Malaysian man found guilty of drug trafficking was executed on Wednesday in Singapore after a last-ditch legal challenge by his mother failed in a high-profile case that had attracted international calls for clemency.

The family of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam and anti-death penalty campaigners confirmed the execution took place early on Wednesday morning.

Nagaenthran, 34, had been on death row for more than a decade for trafficking 43 grams (1.5 oz) of heroin into Singapore, which has some of the world’s toughest narcotics laws. His brother Navin Kumar, 22, told Reuters by telephone the execution had been carried out and said the funeral would be held in the town of Ipoh in Malaysia.

People pay tribute at a wake for Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam in Singapore on April 27, 2022. Photo: AFP

The case had attracted global attention as campaigners – including the British billionaire Richard Branson – decried authorities proceeding with the hanging despite the fact that Nagaenthran had the mental age of a minor.

“Nagaenthran Dharmalingam’s name will go down in history as the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice,” said Mary Foa, the director of the Britain-based anti-death penalty charity Reprieve.