‘Drug trafficker knew what he was doing’

The courts have held that Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, the Malaysian scheduled to be hanged for drug trafficking, knew what he was doing when he committed the crime, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

The issue of whether Nagaenthran’s mental responsibility for his actions was substantially impaired, at the time he had committed the offence, was considered by the High Court, the ministry added.

It made these points in a statement responding to further media queries on the case, which has gained international attention as human rights groups and others call for a halt to Nagaenthran’s upcoming execution, citing intellectual disability.

It added that the High Court had assessed the evidence of psychiatrists that Nagaenthran was not intellectually disabled.

This included the evidence of a psychiatrist called by the defence, “who agreed in court, that Nagaenthran wasn’t intellectually disabled”.Citing findings from the High Court and the Court of Appeal in its statement, MHA said: “The High Court considered the facts, expert evidence from four different psychiatric/psychological experts, and further submissions by the Prosecution and the Defence.

“The High Court held that Nagaenthran knew what he was doing, and upheld the sentence of death.”

The case came under the spotlight late last month when the Singapore Prison Service wrote a letter to Nagaenthran’s mother in Ipoh, Perak, on Oct 26, informing her that the death sentence on her son would be carried out on Nov 10, was circulated on social media.

A petition calling for him to be pardoned from the death sentence, started on Oct 29, has since garnered over 55,000 signatures.

It argued that Nagaenthran should be spared because he had committed the offence under duress and had a low IQ of 69. — The Straits Times/ANN