A delegation of United Nations human rights experts has urged Singapore to stop the execution of a Malaysian who brought narcotics into the city-state on the grounds that he suffers from mental deficiencies.
Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 33, who attempted to sneak a small amount of heroin into Singapore 12 years ago, was slated to be hanged on Wednesday.
Authorities and the courts in Singapore have previously determined that Dharmalingam was aware of his actions.
On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals will hear the case again, this time on the grounds that Nagaenthran is not of sound mind.
Independent United Nations experts urged Singapore to commute Nagaenthran's death sentence in accordance with international human rights law.
"We are quite concerned that if the appeal is dismissed, he may still be executed very soon," the experts said in a statement.
In April 2009, Nagaenthran was arrested for trafficking 42.72 grams of diamorphine, or pure heroin, which he had strapped to his thigh.
M Ravi, his legal counsel, said that his client was a victim and that he should be released.
"He's been manipulated. He is the victim of a [drug-trafficking] ring. He requires medical attention and assistance," M Ravi said.
More than 60,000 people have signed a petition asking Singapore's president to pardon him, citing international human rights law that prohibits the execution of mentally ill persons.
The case has sparked international interest, with British billionaire and anti-capital sentence campaigner Richard Branson urging Singapore to release Nagaenthran.
"It's almost always the most vulnerable people, people struggling to make ends meet... those who are unable to defend themselves when caught and facing the court," Branson said in quotes by ABC News.
While the stay provided a "glimmer of optimism," Amnesty International stated that time was running out for Nagaenthran.
In a letter dated Nov. 3 to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob allegedly begged for leniency "purely on humanitarian grounds."
Singapore has some of the strictest drug regulations in the world, and the use of the death sentence is quite uncontroversial in the Southeast Asian nation.
The most recent execution in Singapore occurred in 2019.
