S'pore court dismisses Msian drug trafficker's last-minute bid to halt execution

Singapore's court has dismissed a final legal bid by the family of Malaysian Pannir Selvam Pranthaman to halt his execution on Oct. 8.

According to New Straits Times (NST), the convicted drug trafficker's application for a stay of execution was dismissed as there is "no basis" to grant the application.

Pannir was arrested in 2014 after trafficking 51.84g of heroin into Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint on Sep. 3, 2014.

He was later convicted in May 2017 and given the death sentence.

"No basis" to stop execution: Singapore judge

In a written judgment, Justice Woo Bih Li addressed in his statement Pannir's argument about the possibility of future criminal proceedings in Malaysia against others, with there being a "public interest in the preservation of his evidence" because he is likely to be a "material witness in those proceedings."

In response, Justice Woo said MHA's policy on the scheduling of executions would only reasonably apply to domestic state-brought proceedings. Any criminal proceedings in Malaysia would fall outside its ambit.

While Pannir does not dispute this, he called upon the court to grant a stay of execution in "exceptional circumstances".

"However, as the Court of Appeal made clear...there is a high threshold to be crossed before this may be successfully invoked, and it will be incumbent on an applicant to demonstrate how this high threshold has been crossed.

The Applicant raises the argument about public interest but any reference by the Court of Appeal to public interest is to the public interest in Singapore and not in any other country. I add that any question of criminal proceedings in Malaysia arising from information from the Applicant is open-ended."

Therefore, Justice Woo concluded, there is no basis to grant the present application to order a stay of execution.

Information provided by Pannir had "no operational value": Malaysia police

The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) confirmed that they had been unable to continue investigations into Pannir's case due to a lack of new evidence or information.

Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and Pannir's family members informed PDRM that Pannir claimed he was "tricked" by a suspect into bringing drugs into Singapore.

Malaysia police identified the suspect in 2022 and Feb. 2025, Bernama reported.

"However, the investigation found that the information provided had no operational value and could not link the individual to the case involving Pannir," Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Hussein Omar Khan said in a statement.

Hussein added that the Malaysian police respect the rule of law of other countries and adhere to the principle of non-interference.

“We understand the pain of the families and communities,” he said. “However, Malaysians are reminded to always obey the laws of the country they are visiting, especially with regards to suspicious activities.”

Granted stay of execution before

On Feb. 9, 2018, the Singapore Court of Appeal rejected an appeal to halt his execution, and a clemency petition to the Singapore president was also denied.

However, he was then granted a stay of execution at the last minute on May 24, 2019 by the Court of Appeal.

He was also granted another stay of execution on Feb. 19, 2025 before he was set to hang on Feb. 20.

His recent bid to stay the execution was dismissed on Sep. 6.

Top photos via Malaysia media file pic & by Mothership