SINGAPORE: An order of respite was granted for a death row inmate, two days before he was scheduled to be hanged on Wedndesday (Feb 26).
Hamzah Ibrahim was convicted for having 26.29g of heroin in his possession for the purpose of trafficking, and sentenced to death in 2017.
The respite order, granted by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, is a stay of execution that does not amount to a pardon.
The president may, on the advice of the Cabinet, grant to any convicted offender any reprieve or respite, either indefinitely or for such period as the president may think fit, of the execution of any sentence pronounced on the offender.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Feb 27 that Hamzah’s execution was scheduled on Feb 26 as he had exhausted all legal channels in relation to his conviction and sentence, including the clemency process.
MHA said the order of respite was issued on Feb 24.
It added the Cabinet has advised the President that an order of respite should be issued for Hamzah after taking into account recent developments in the courts, citing the Court of Appeal’s decision to grant a stay in execution for Malaysian Pannir Selvam Pranthaman on Feb 19.
This decision may be relevant to Hamzah’s case, MHA said.
Pannir was convicted in 2017 of importing 51.84g of heroin into Singapore and sentenced to the mandatory death penalty.
He was scheduled to be executed on Feb 20 before the Court of Appeal granted the stay to have his applications heard.
In a written judgment, Justice Woo Bih Li had said he ordered it pending the determination of Pannir’s complaint to the Law Society against his former lawyer and the outcome of a constitutional challenge to presumptions under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Under Section 18(1), a person who is proved to be in possession of certain things containing a controlled drug is presumed to have had that drug in his possession, until he proves the contrary.
Hamzah was tried jointly with two others - Farid Sudi and Tika Pesik.
Court documents show it was Pesik who arranged for Farid to collect the heroin and to deliver them to Hamzah.
Hamzah collected the drugs contained in two packets from Farid in the afternoon of Dec 20, 2014.
He was given the death penalty despite being given a certificate of substantive assistance under the Misuse of Drug Act.
Drug offenders deemed to have substantively assisted the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) in disrupting drug trafficking activities within or outside Singapore can be sentenced to life imprisonment and caning instead of the death penalty, if they are also found to have acted only as a courier.
A High Court judge found that Hamzah did not qualify for the alternative sentencing regime, saying it was clear his purpose after taking delivery of the drugs was to sell them.
Farid qualified for the alternative sentencing regime and was sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane, while Pesik was given the death sentence.
Hamzah lost his appeal before he filed a petition of clemency to then President Halimah Yacob on Nov 29, 2018.
After consideration and on the advice of the Cabinet, this was rejected on July 5, 2019.
Hamzah had recently sought permission with the Court of Appeal to make a review application to “cure the miscarriage of justice in his case”. This was rejected by Justice Tay Yong Kwang in a judgment dated Feb 14, 2025.
In his application, the unrepresented Hamzah had asked the court to order a retrial so he would have a “fair trial” in which he has the opportunity to carry out his own defence.
One of the grounds of his application was that he had been labouring under a promise made by “CNB officers (unidentified and unnamed) and/or the prosecution” that he would receive a non-capital sentence if he co-operated in the investigations or assisted the authorities in disrupting drug trafficking activities.
He said this undue influence had operated on his mind when he gave various statements to CNB and throughout the earlier court proceedings.
Hamzah argued that his statements and testimony could not be deemed to be voluntary and would therefore be inadmissible.
In dismissing the application, Justice Tay noted that before Hamzah’s trial, the prosecution had made it clear to his then lawyer that it took the position Hamzah was not a courier and so would not qualify for the alternative sentencing regime.
He said if Hamzah still had the mistaken belief at the start of his trial that he would not receive the death penalty if he cooperated by not challenging the admissibility of his statements, that belief could not have continued throughout the trial. - The Straits Times/ANN
