Lawyer accuses S'pore of lawless act after M'sian on death row executed

PETALING JAYA: Prabu Pathmanathan, who was on death row in Singapore after being convicted for drug trafficking, has been hanged at the Changi Prison on Friday (Oct 26), says lawyer N. Surendran.

He said the execution was an unlawful and brutal act, which was carried out in breach of due process and in defiance of the appeals made by Malaysia.

"We understand that Malaysian Cabinet ministers had spoken directly to Singapore's leaders in a bid to halt the execution, to no avail," the Lawyers for Liberty adviser said in a statement on Friday (Oct 26).

Surendran added that the letter sent to Prabu's family by the Singapore President's Office on their response to their clemency petition was "unlawful under the Singapore constitution", as there was no bar to the filing of a fresh clemency petition

"It is a flagrant breach of due process for the Singapore President to reject the family's clemency petition without even considering it.

"It was thus a lawless act," he said.

Surendran also questioned Singapore's haste in carrying out the execution.

"Less than a week's notice was given to Prabu and his family that he would be executed.

"Was this an underhanded method by Singapore authorities to execute secretly and prevent representations being made or court applications being filed?" he asked.

Surendran added that he was disturbed that the Singapore government had disregarded basic processes to execute Prabu.

"Prabu's parents and siblings are devastated by the execution of their son and brother. They wish to thank the Malaysian government, and everyone on both sides of the causeway for their support and prayers over the past few difficult days," he said.

Surendran added that the family had claimed the body and would be cremating Prabu's remains today (Oct 26).

Prabu, 31, was sentenced to death for committing several acts preparatory to and for the purposes of trafficking in 227.82g of diamorphine or heroin into the island state on Dec 31, 2014.