Nagaenthran got to wear his favourite outfit before his death, says activist

PETALING JAYA: The late Nagaenthran Dharmalingam (pic) had one of his last wishes granted before his execution in Singapore, says an activist.

Singaporean human rights activist Kirsten Han posted a photo of Nagaenthren dressed in a collared T-shirt, jeans and white sneakers.

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“Rest In Peace, Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam.

“Before an execution, family members are allowed to buy clothes for the prisoner to wear at a photo shoot.

“The photos are given to the family shortly before or after execution,” Han said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (April 27).

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Han said Nageanthren’s brother Navin Kumar told her that this was the deceased’s favourite outfit.

Human rights lawyer M. Ravi said earlier that a Malaysian funeral parlour had offered to bring Nagaenthren’s remains back for burial.

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Meanwhile, Amnesty International said that another Malaysian, Datchinamurthy Kataiah, is scheduled to be executed in Singapore this Friday (April 29), also for a drug-related offence.

However, he has a pending legal challenge in a Singapore court later in May.

“International safeguards guaranteeing protections of the rights of those facing the death penalty state that executions may not be carried out pending any appeal or other recourse procedure,” said Amnesty International Asia Pacific regional director Erwin van der Borght.

The execution of Nagaenthran, 34, came after a Singapore court rejected his final appeal against the death sentence imposed for drug trafficking on March 29.

He was detained in 2009 and convicted of trafficking 42.72g of heroin in 2010, which carries the mandatory death penalty.

His appeal against the conviction and sentence were dismissed in 2011.

His case drew public attention late last year with local as well as international appeals against his death sentence, based on arguments over his intellectual disability.

Among those calling for clemency were British billionaire Richard Branson and actor Stephen Fry who pleaded for Nagaenthren’s life to be spared in a Twitter video directed to Singaporean leaders President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.