A high court in Singapore has stayed the execution of an Indian-origin drug smuggler after it was found before the execution that the accused was infected with Corona. Singapore’s envoy to the United Nations in Geneva has said that the High Court has found that Dharmalingam of Indian-origin Malaysian Nagendran, who is facing death sentence for drug trafficking, was mentally unwell and also infected. At present, the hanging of Dharmalingam has been postponed and the court has not yet announced a new date.
accused found infected with covid
On Thursday, responding to a joint urgent appeal by four UN special envoys who called on Singapore on October 29 to definitively stop the execution of Nagendran, Ambassador Umez Bhatia said the convict had psychosocial disability. Let us inform that 33-year-old Nagendra was to be hanged in Changi Jail on Wednesday. However, the execution was deferred by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday after he tested positive for Covid-19 before the appeal hearing. Let us tell you that Nagendran’s IQ is 69, he is not mentally capable.
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Was sentenced to death in 2010
Bhatia pointed out that during the hearing of Nagendran’s re-sentence several years ago, the High Court had specifically considered whether he was eligible for a diagnosis of intellectual disability under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Naganthran had filed the application in February 2015, and the High Court dismissed it in September 2017. The Court found that he was not suffering from mild intellectual disability. During the hearing, the court said that in the ‘current circumstances’ it is not appropriate to move towards the execution of the death penalty. If the applicant has been infected with Covid-19, then we are of the opinion that he cannot be hanged. Let us tell you that Dharmalingam was sentenced to death in 2010 for bringing 42.75 grams of heroin to Singapore in 2009.
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