Cruel and inhumane sentence

WE refer to the latest statement issued by Singapore’s Home Affairs Ministry on Nov 6 on the impending execution of mentally disabled Malaysian citizen Nagaenthran Dharmalingam. The ministry had previously issued a statement on Nov 3 in response to increasing pressure not to execute a mentally disabled person; this new statement appears to be a further reaction to what is now global attention and mounting opposition to the execution scheduled for Wednesday.

The contents of both statements are substantially similar. In essence, the ministry repeats that the courts assessed all evidence, including psychiatric testimony, and have affirmed the death sentence. But this does not answer concerns in Malaysia, Singapore and throughout the world that it is cruel and inhumane to execute someone like Nagaenthran who has borderline intellectual functioning with an IQ of only 69 and other associated cognitive problems.