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Nagaenthran A/L K Dharmalingam, the Malaysian man sentenced to death in Singapore for drug trafficking, will have his appeal heard by the Court of Appeal on Jan. 24, 2022.

Nagaenthran's case has attracted a lot of attention, both locally and internationally, with many urging the Singapore government to be more lenient with his sentencing as he is an intellectually-disabled man.

Stephen Fry appeals to Lee Hsien Loong and Halimah Yacob

Most recently on Jan. 20, 2022, British TV personality Stephen Fry shared a tweet, urging Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and president Halimah Yacob to spare Nagaenthran's life.

In his tweet, Fry stated:

"Nagaenthran Dharmalingam faces imminent execution in Singapore despite his intellectual disability. Heartbreakingly, he doesn't fully understand he c'd be killed – thinks he's going home."

The tweet was accompanied with a picture showcasing details of Nagenthran's case.

Nagaenthran Dharmalingam faces imminent execution in Singapore despite his intellectual disability. Heartbreakingly, he doesn't fully understand he c'd be killed – thinks he's going home. Please @leehsienloong & President Halimah, spare this vulnerable man's life #SaveNagaenthran pic.twitter.com/O8156b1szr

— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) January 20, 2022

Fry has 12.4 million followers on Twitter.

As of the time of writing, his tweet about Nagenthran had received 758 retweets, 58 quote tweets, and 1,588 likes.

MHA: Nagaenthran knew what he was doing & upheld the death penalty

In response to Mothership's previous queries, the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that 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".

MHA added that both Singapore's High Court and the Court of Appeal had held that Nagaenthran's mental responsibility was not substantially impaired with regard to his offence.

According to MHA, Nagaenthran had applied to set aside the death sentence for life imprisonment in 2015.

MHA stated:

"One of the issues considered, during this re-sentencing application, was whether Nagaenthran’s mental responsibility for his actions was substantially impaired, at the time he had committed the offence.

The High Court considered the facts, expert evidence from four different psychiatric/psychological experts, and further submissions by the prosecution and the defence.

The High Court held that Nagaenthran knew what he was doing, and upheld the sentence of death. The High Court had assessed the evidence of the psychiatrists, including the evidence of a psychiatrist called by the defence, on behalf of Nagaenthran, who agreed in court, that Nagaenthran was not intellectually disabled."

MHA also said the High Court found that Nagaenthran was able to plan and organise on simpler terms, and "was relatively adept at living independently".

His actions relating to the offence revealed that he was capable of "manipulation and evasion", added MHA.

Previously granted temporary stay of execution

Nagaenthran had previously been granted a temporary stay of execution in Nov. 2021.

His appeal on Jan. 24, 2022 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.

Nagaenthran was previously represented by M. Ravi, but Violet Netto has taken over and is now acting for Nagaenthran as his lawyer.

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 he was later taken away.

The court was subsequently informed by a judge that Nagaenthran had tested positive for Covid-19.

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