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A petition has been started to pardon a man with a mild intellectual disability on death row for smuggling 42.72g of heroin into Singapore.

At the time of writing, the petition to save Nagaenthran A/L K Dharmalingam — whose death sentence will be carried out on Nov. 10, 2021 — has garnered over 40,000 signatures.

The petition noted the results of a forensic psychiatric evaluation, where Nagaenthran was assessed to have an IQ of 69; individuals who score below IQ 70 are internationally recognised as having an intellectual disability.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) noted that both Singapore's High Court and the Court of Appeal had held that the Malaysian man's mental responsibility was not substantially impaired with regard to his offence.

"Nagaenthran was found to have clearly understood the nature of his acts, and he did not lose his sense of judgment of the rightness or wrongness of what he was doing," said MHA.

"He knew it was unlawful for him to be transporting the drugs, and he concealed the drugs to avoid it being found. Despite knowing the unlawfulness of his acts, he undertook the criminal endeavour so that he could pay off some part of a monetary debt.

The Court of Appeal found that this was the working of a criminal mind, weighing the risks and countervailing benefits associated with the criminal conduct in question, and that Nagaenthran took a calculated risk which, contrary to his expectations, materialised. It was a deliberate, purposeful and calculated decision on Nagaenthran’s part to take the chance."

MHA's full statement is reproduced in full at the end of this article.

Background to the case

According to CNA, Nagaenthran was first convicted and sentenced to death in November 2010, after he was caught with a bundle of diamorphine, or heroin, strapped to his thigh in 2009.

At the time he had explained to Central Narcotics Bureau officers that he knew the bundle contained heroin and that a friend had strapped it to his thigh so that no one would find it.

Nagaenthran would go on to appeal his conviction and sentence, with the Court of Appeal dismissing his appeal in Jul 2011.

When amendments to the death penalty regime under the Misuse of Drugs Act came into effect in January 2013, Nagaenthran applied for re-sentencing.

CNA reported that the amendment:

• allows a court to sentence a drug offender to life imprisonment instead of death if they were merely a courier, on the condition that the public prosecutor issues the offender a certificate of substantive assistance - for helping CNB to disrupt drug trafficking activities
• requires that the court must also sentence the offender to life imprisonment if he or she was merely a courier and also suffering from an abnormality of the mind

According to MHA, Nagaenthran's re-sentencing application sought to determine if he was suffering from an abnormality of mind which substantially impaired his mental responsibility for the offence.

"The High Court dismissed the application on Sep. 14, 2017, having considered all the facts of the case, expert evidence from psychiatrists, as well as further submissions to the High Court," said MHA.

"The High Court found that Nagaenthran was not suffering from an abnormality of mind at the time of the offence."

Nagaenthran subsequently appealed the High Court's decision on the application, as well as a separate dismissal from the court on a judicial review application, though both appeals were dismissed on May 27, 2019.

His petition to the President for clemency was also unsuccessful.

In the statement provided to Mothership, MHA noted that the Court of Appeal had found Nagaenthran to have vacillated between various accounts of why he committed the offence, which did not aid his case.

This included an account of being coerced under duress, which he later abandoned, accepting that he had committed the offence because he needed money.

A letter sent to his mother

Nagaenthran's case re-entered the public consciousness after a letter sent to his mother informing her of her son's death sentence date was circulated on social media.

The letter extended an offer to facilitate travel for his mother — who lives in Ipoh, Malaysia — to Singapore as well as extended visits with Nagaenthran until Nov. 9, 2021.

MHA told Mothership that the Singapore Prison Service had been in touch with Nagaenthran's next-of-kin by phone and email on a daily basis since Oct. 27, 2021, to explain and address the family's queries on the required travel arrangements.

MHA's statement in full

Nagaenthran was charged with, and convicted of, importing one packet of granular substance containing not less than 42.72 grammes of diamorphine. The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine imported is more than 15 grammes. 42.72 grammes of diamorphine is equivalent to about 3,560 straws of heroin, which is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 510 abusers for a week.

Nagaenthran appealed against his conviction and sentence, and the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal on 27 July 2011. After the amendments to the death penalty regime under the Misuse of Drugs Act came into effect in January 2013, Nagaenthran was eligible to apply for re-sentencing. On 24 February 2015, Nagaenthran filed a re-sentencing application to set aside the death sentence imposed on him and to substitute a sentence of life imprisonment in its place. The re-sentencing application sought to determine whether he was suffering from an abnormality of mind which substantially impaired his mental responsibility for the offence. The High Court dismissed the application on 14 September 2017, having considered all the facts of the case, expert evidence from psychiatrists, as well as further submissions to the High Court. The High Court found that Nagaenthran was not suffering from an abnormality of mind at the time of the offence.

On 27 March 2015, Nagaenthran filed a judicial review application against the Public Prosecutor’s decision to not issue a certificate of substantive assistance under s 33B of the Misuse of Drugs Act. The High Court dismissed the application on 4 May 2018.

Nagaenthran appealed against the High Court’s decisions on both applications, and the Court of Appeal dismissed both appeals on 27 May 2019. His petition to the President for clemency was unsuccessful.

Nagaenthran’s defence of duress was fully ventilated in Court and the High Court found that the defence was fabricated. This was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal, which flatly rejected Nagaenthran’s account of being coerced under duress. Nagaenthran himself resiled from his claim of duress in subsequent proceedings, and accepted that he committed the offence because he needed money, as opposed to having been labouring under any threat. The Court of Appeal found that Nagaenthran’s vacillation between various accounts of why he had committed the offence did not aid his case at all.

With regard to Nagaenthran’s mental state, the High Court and Court of Appeal held that Nagaenthran’s mental responsibility for his offence was not substantially impaired. Nagaenthran was found to have clearly understood the nature of his acts, and he did not lose his sense of judgment of the rightness or wrongness of what he was doing. He knew it was unlawful for him to be transporting the drugs, and he concealed the drugs to avoid it being found. Despite knowing the unlawfulness of his acts, he undertook the criminal endeavour so that he could pay off some part of a monetary debt. The Court of Appeal found that this was the working of a criminal mind, weighing the risks and countervailing benefits associated with the criminal conduct in question, and that Nagaenthran took a calculated risk which, contrary to his expectations, materialised. It was a deliberate, purposeful and calculated decision on Nagaenthran’s part to take the chance.

Nagaenthran was accorded full due process under the law, and was represented by legal counsel throughout the process.

The Singapore Prison Service has been in touch with Nagaenthran’s Next-Of-Kin by phone and email on a daily basis since 27 October 2021 to explain and address any of the family’s queries on the required travel arrangements. SPS has also liaised closely with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, Ministry of Health, Singapore Tourism Board, as well as other government agencies, to smoothen their travel application and make the necessary arrangements for entry into Singapore.

Upon their entry into Singapore, Nagaenthran’s visitors will be granted extended face-to-face visits daily. SPS will continue to render assistance to the family throughout.

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Top image from Change.org