Singapore Executes Malaysian Kalwant Singh After 9 Years In Prison Upon Losing Final Appeal

By Lara Kramer  •  07 Jul 2022 in News

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Malaysian-Punjabi Kalwant Singh was executed at Changi Prison earlier today upon having lost his final appeal to circumvent capital punishment.

On October 24, 2013, Kalwant was convicted in Singapore for possession of 60.15gm of diamorphine as well as trafficking 120.9gm of the drug. He was 23 years old at the time, and was on death row for just over 6 years beginning June 1, 2016.

Just yesterday, he filed a notice of motion with the Singapore Court of Appeal seeking a stay of execution and an evaluation of his conviction.

Nevertheless, the court denied his request.

It has been confirmed that the deceased’s remains will be returned to his home in Cameron Highlands, Pahang where his funeral will take place.

As per FMT, a tearful vigil was held for Kalwant outside the Singapore High Commission. A human rights organisation has stated that it will continue to oppose the death sentence.

“We will continue to protest even if we were unable to stop the execution.

“We will not remain silent; we will keep raising our voices against the death penalty,” said Brian Yap of Amnesty International Malaysia, adding that those sentenced to death had been wronged or are facing dire circumstances.

A gathering of 15 representatives from the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network, Lawyers for Liberty, Suara Rakyat Malaysia, and Amnesty International attended the vigil, sporting protest signs prompting Singaporean authorities to do away with the death penalty.

Kalwant’s execution came less than three months after Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam was hanged, an instance which occurred amidst widespread criticism of the nation’s use of the justice system.

Nagaenthran was executed on April 27, 2022. He was arrested in 2009 for transporting 42.72 grammes of heroin into city state.

During the trial, he was deemed to be suffering from ADHD and had an IQ of 69, indicating that he was intellectually challenged. The court, however, determined that he was not “significantly disabled,” and thus could fully comprehend that he was committing an unlawful act.

Similarly, a last-minute plea to halt the execution was made by Nagaenthran’s mother merely two days before the execution without representation.

Last year, nearly 20,000 people signed an online petition pleading for Singapore President Halimah Yacob to have mercy on the convict.

A candlelight vigil was organised in a Singapore park following his death as well.

According to Malay Mail, Kalwant is the sixth Malaysian condemned to death in Singapore for drug offences since 2016. Since 2010, 14 Malaysians have been sentenced to death, with ethnic Indians accounting for nearly three-quarters of them.