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Singapore's apex court, the Court of Appeal, will hear the appeal of convicted Malaysian drug trafficker, Nagaenthran A/L K Dharmalingam, on Jan. 24.
According to The Straits Times, Nagaenthran is appealing against a decision by the High Court, which denies him permission in beginning judicial review proceedings to challenge his execution.
Nagaenthran, who was sentenced to death for smuggling heroin into Singapore, had previously been granted a temporary stay of execution in Nov. 2021.
His appeal on Jan. 24 will be heard by five judges: Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Andrew Phang Boon Leong, Justice Judith Prakash, Justice Belinda Ang, and Justice Chao Hick Tin.
He is represented by lawyer M. Ravi.
Execution originally scheduled for Nov. 10, 2021
Nagaenthran's execution had previously been scheduled for Nov. 10, 2021.
On Nov. 8, according to updates on Ravi's Facebook page, the High Court heard his argument that executing Nagaenthran would be unconstitutional. But it was dismissed.
However, Ravi said that the High Court also granted a stay of execution, pending an appeal against its decision.
Tested positive for Covid-19
The appeal was heard the next day (Nov. 9) at the Court of Appeal.
Nagaenthran appeared in court in person 12 minutes before the hearing but was later taken away.
The court was subsequently informed by a judge that Nagaenthran had tested positive for Covid-19.
One of the judges, Phang, was quoted by CNA as saying,
"The execution is scheduled for tomorrow... If the applicant has been afflicted by Covid-19... it's our view that the execution cannot take place anyway."
Background
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.
Appeals against his conviction and sentence were dismissed by the Court of Appeal in July 2011.
After the death penalty regime under the Misuse of Drugs Act was amended, a re-sentencing application was made and dismissed by the High Court in September 2017.
A further appeal against this decision, as well as a separate judicial review application, were dismissed in May 2019.
A petition to the president for clemency was also unsuccessful.
The case also attracted international media coverage. as human rights groups called attention to his intellectual disability and IQ of 69.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Ismail Sabri had also sought leniency on Nagaenthran's behalf, writing directly to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
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Top collage left image via change.org, right image via Wikimedia commons