Singapore To Execute Another Malaysian Next Week Over Drug Charges

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The Singaporean government has confirmed that another Malaysian sentenced for drug-trafficking, Saminathan Selvaraju, will be executed on Nov 27.
This came after the island republic executed two other Malaysians over the past months.
According to a letter issued today by the Singapore Prison Service, sighted by Malaysiakini, its senior assistant director (Offender Administration) Lim Lay Khim said the authorities will facilitate Saminathan’s family’s extended visits to the detainee until Nov 26; between 10am and 12pm, and between 2pm and 4pm.
On Aug 28, a five-judge Singapore Court of Appeal panel, led by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, rejected a constitutional challenge against provisions in the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) that place the onus on an accused drug trafficker to rebut certain presumed facts.
ADSAmong the prisoners affected by the ruling were Jumaat Sayed, Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, K Datchinamurthy, and Saminathan.
According to The Straits Times, Sundaresh said MDA presumptions do not violate Singapore’s Constitution.
These provisions operate by presuming that an accused person was in possession of drugs or knew the nature of those drugs when a basic fact is proved.
The presumptions are rebuttable, but the burden is on the accused person to disprove the presumed facts.
Appeals rejected
The four individuals were sentenced to death between 2015 and 2018. Their appeals against conviction and sentence were dismissed between 2016 and 2020.
The decision on Saminathan came after Datchinamurthy was executed on Sept 25 this year, a decision which drew brickbats from his lawyer, N Surendran.
K Datchinamurthy“To pretend to give a reprieve to Datchinamurthy, raise his and his family’s hopes, and then to plunge them into horror and despair again, is unforgivable and uncivilised.
“It amounts to carrying out the execution in an arbitrary, cruel, and unusual manner, which is unlawful and unconstitutional.
“The cruelty inflicted appears deliberate and unfeeling, and is a new low for Singapore. In short, it is state barbarism,” Surendran said.
Singapore executed Pannir Selvam Pranthaman on Oct 8, barely two weeks after Datchinamurthy’s demise. - Mkini

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