NAGAENTHRAN K. Dharmalingam’s execution was upheld by the Singapore Court of Appeal on grounds that there was lack of evidence indicating the decline of his mental state.
According to a report by English daily The Star the judgment dated March 29 also revealed that Nagaenthran’s lawyers have “abused the court process”.
His lawyers have previously said that he had been diagnosed with intellectual disability with an IQ of 69 – which is lower-than-average IQ.
The court had rejected the appeal to dismiss the application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings in respect of Nagaenthran’s impending execution (CA61).
The criminal motion (CM30) for Nagaenthran to be assessed by an independent panel of psychiatrists and for a stay of execution of his sentence, in the meantime, was also rejected.
“The central argument for both matters concerned an assertion as to the appellant’s present mental faculties: that because of an alleged deterioration in the appellant’s mental faculties since the time of his offence, the sentence of death could not be allowed to be carried out,” the judgement read.
It further noted that there was “no admissible evidence” indicating any decline in Nagaenthran’s mental condition after he had committed the offence, adding that his lawyer M. Ravi himself had acknowledged that he had “no medical expertise” and was “in effect speculating” Nagaenthran’s mental age.
“The evidence raised by the Attorney-General (AG) also undermined the appellant’s case that he had suffered a deterioration in his mental faculties,” it added.
“Given the lack of evidence to indicate any deterioration of the appellant’s mental condition and for all the reasons we have set out, CA61 as well as CM30 must fail for lacking any foundation in fact, and we dismiss these accordingly.”
It further noted that both CA61 and CM30 were dismissed as the proceedings “constitute a blatant and egregious abuse of the court’s processes”.
“Counsel who file unmeritorious applications, when they know or ought reasonably to know that the application is without basis, are acting improperly,” the judgment read.
“In the present case, the court was moved by counsel on the purported basis of a deterioration in the appellant’s mental faculties, without any factual or legal basis.
“Further, to the extent there is evidence that could shed light on this (namely the medical and psychiatric reports), Mr Ravi and Ms (LF Violet) Netto have sought to prevent the court from looking at it.”
The judgment noted that it was improper for the lawyers to abuse the process of court and bring disrepute to the administration of criminal justice by filing one hopeless application after another and by drip-feeding the supposed evidence.
The court of appeal was presided by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Andrew Phang, Judith Prakash, Belinda Ang and Chao Hick Tin.
Nagaenthran was detained detained in 2009 and convicted of trafficking 42.72g of heroin in 2010, a crime punishable by the mandatory death penalty in Singapore.
His appeal against conviction and sentence were dismissed in 2011.
In 2017, the High Court in Singapore ruled that the 34-year-old Malaysian did not qualify to be given life imprisonment based on evidence from four psychological and psychiatric experts.
He is scheduled to be executed in Singapore on April 27. – April 22, 2022
