THE Singapore Government has defended its decision to execute Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam after his death penalty had attracted international criticism due to concerns about his mental capacity.
Nagaenthran, 34, was hanged yesterday after being found guilty more than a decade ago for trafficking 42.72g of heroin into Singapore in 2009. Multiple appeals over the sentence had been dismissed in the city-state’s courts.
His lawyer M. Ravi had previously argued that Nagaenthran had been diagnosed with intellectual disability with an IQ of 69 – which is lower-than-average IQ.
Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said in a statement the courts had found that “Nagaenthran knew what he was doing, and that he did not suffer from intellectual disability”.
“There has been much misinformation that has been put out in relation to Nagaenthran, in particular on his mental state,” the agency said was reported as saying by Bloomberg, pointing to two cases in the US in 2021 in which those executed had IQs in a similar range.
The bureau also noted that Nageanthran’s lawyer M. Ravi had conceded that he did not have the medical expertise to support his claim that the accused had a mental age of a person below 18 years old.
It reiterated that a psychiatrist called by the defence agreed in court that Nagaenthran was not intellectually disabled.
Further, it said the courts found that Nagaenthran’s actions showed he was “capable of manipulation and evasion” insofar that he told border security officers that he was working in security in order to stop being searched.
“Nagaenthran’s actions evidenced a deliberate, purposeful, and calculated decision, in the hope that the endeavour would pay off, despite the obvious risks,” the CNB argued.
“This was the working of a criminal mind, weighing the risks and countervailing benefits associated with the criminal conduct in question.
“Nagaenthran considered the risks, balanced it against the reward he had hoped he would get, and decided to take the risk.” – April 28, 2022
