Malaysian drug courier Prabu Pathmanathan, 31, died on Singapore gallows, family's lawyer confirms

"Singapore, Disneyland with the death penalty." -- William Gibson

Malaysian Prabu Pathmanathan, 31, was executed at dawn in Singapore's Changi Prison today, lawyer N. Surendran said in a statement.

Surendran who represents Prabu's family also confirmed that they have collected his body for cremation later today, but called the hanging by Singapore a lawless act that disregarded the due process.

"The execution was an unlawful, and brutal act, carried out in breach of due process and in defiance of the appeals made by neighbouring Malaysia," he said.

Prabu was convicted of smuggling 227.82 grams of diamorphine from Malaysia into Singapore in 2014.

Surendran who is also adviser for civil group Lawyers for Liberty claimed the Singapore authorities gave less than a week's notice on Prabu’s execution to his family even as they and the Malaysian government sought to commute his death sentence.

He said the Singapore President's Office also rejected petitions for clemency and gave its reply to the family late last night, then questioned the entire manoeuvre which he called "underhanded".

"It is a flagrant breach of due process for the Singapore President to reject the family's clemency petition without even considering it. It was thus a lawless act.

"Prabu's parents and siblings are devastated by the execution of their son and brother," the lawyer said.

Surendran conveyed the family's gratitude to the Malaysian government and other anti-death penalty advocates in the country and outside for their support.

Groups like Lawyers for Liberty, Amnesty International, We Believe in Second Chances and Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign were among those who voiced their opposition to Prabu's hanging.

Malaysia has equally strict laws as Singapore with regards to drug trafficking but the Pakatan Harapan government recently announced that it would abolish the mandatory death penalty as part of its promised legal reforms after taking power in the May elections.

De facto law minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong told reporters Wednesday that he would issue a letter to the Singapore government asking that Prabu be given a 2nd chance.

Source: malaymail.com, October 27, 2018

Malaysian drug trafficker hanged in Singapore

Screenshot from 'Apprentice', by Boo Junfeng (2016)

A convicted Malaysian drug trafficker was hanged in Singapore on Friday, officials said, after the city-state rejected last minute efforts to save him.

The Malaysian government — which decided earlier this month to abolish the death penalty — had asked neighboring Singapore to spare the 31-year-old man from the gallows on humanitarian grounds.

But Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Friday that Prabu N Pathmanathan was executed in Singapore’s Changi Prison earlier in the day, in the presence of family members and a representative from the Malaysian embassy.

The ministry said the Malaysian government had asked Singapore to spare the man on humanitarian grounds but respects the city-state’s laws.

Capital punishment, which is carried out by hanging, is a legacy of British colonial rule in both countries.

Pathmanathan was sentenced to death in 2014 for trafficking 227.82 grams (7.97 ounces) of heroin into Singapore, media reports said.

Family lawyer N. Surendran said in a statement that the family received a letter from the office of the Singapore president on the eve of the execution denying their appeal for clemency. The family has now claimed the body, their lawyer added.

There was no comment from the Singapore government.

Amnesty International, which had opposed the execution, urged Singapore to follow the example of Malaysia under the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was swept to power in May elections.

Singapore death penalty for drug traffickers

Malaysia’s cabinet earlier this month decided to abolish capital punishment, a prelude to parliament amending the law.

A moratorium on executions will be imposed in the meantime, with more than 1,200 people on death row set to win a reprieve.

“This cruel and irreversible punishment has no place in any society, as more than two-thirds of the world’s countries have come to recognize,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Amnesty International’s Singapore researcher.

Singapore however has maintained that capital punishment is an effective crime deterrent and is crucial to fighting drugs.

Amnesty said it is aware of six executions carried out in Singapore this year and eight in 2017, all for drug offenses.

Source: Coconut, Agence France-Presse, October 27, 2018

Executed Malaysian's last message – don't get involved in drugs

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian Prabu Pathmanathan, 31, who was executed for drug trafficking in Singapore on Friday (Oct 26) has left a message for all Malaysians to stay far away from drugs.

His message was shared on Facebook on the "We Believe in Second Chances" page, along with a series of five pictures taken a few days before his execution.

According to the post, Prabu conveyed the message to a friend, the last person to visit him along with his brother.

Prabu was dressed in a blue T-shirt with a white headwrap and appeared calm in the pictures.

In one of the pictures, he holds a copy of the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, and a copy of the Sai Satcharitra, a book about a saint in India, in another photo.

Praba conveyed that he wanted his pictures to be published so that people know his story.

In Singapore, inmates who are about to be executed are allowed to wear regular clothes for a photo shoot, and the photos will be provided to the family.

Prabu was sentenced to death for committing several acts preparatory to and for the purposes of trafficking in 227.82g of heroin into the Singapore on Dec 31, 2014.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) had expressed its regret over Prabu's execution, saying that it was disappointed that Singapore was continuing this draconian practice.

Source: thestar.com.my, October 26, 2018

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