Singapore | Solidarity rally at Hong Lim Park on 29 Sept to demand accountability and a halt to executions

A solidarity rally at Hong Lim Park on 29 September 2025 will demand accountability from institutions enforcing capital punishment and call for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty, after court rulings left five prisoners at imminent risk of execution.

A solidarity rally will be held at Hong Lim Park on 29 September 2025 for five death row prisoners who now face imminent risk of execution.

The event, titled Blood on Your Hands, AGC., will run from 7pm to 8.30pm at Speakers’ Corner and is organised by anti-death penalty activist Rocky Howe.

The rally aims to hold accountable institutions involved in administering the death penalty, particularly the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), and to renew calls for an immediate moratorium on executions.

Howe announced the event on Facebook, linking it to recent judicial decisions that dismissed the final legal challenges of the five men. Ten other prisoners have already been executed in Singapore in 2025.

The five inmates are Malaysian national Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, alongside Jumaat bin Mohamad Sayed, Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, Saminathan Selveraju and Datchinamurthy Kataiah.

Howe criticised the AGC, saying it “calls the shots on who to charge with capital offences, decides on who receives certificates of substantive assistance, advises on clemency decisions, opposes applications brought by prisoners, and sometimes even argues for cases to be expedited so executions can be carried out.”

Court of Appeal dismisses constitutional challenge against provisions in Misuse of Drugs Act

On 28 August 2025, the Court of Appeal dismissed a constitutional challenge mounted by Datchinamurthy, Jumaat, Saminathan and Lingkesvaran.

They contested presumptions under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA), which allow courts to assume possession or knowledge of drugs once certain basic facts are proven.

A five-judge panel led by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon ruled that these presumptions do not violate Articles 9 or 12 of the Constitution.

The judges found that the presumptions are rebuttable and consistent with natural justice, as the prosecution still bears the overall burden of proof. Parliament, they explained, had introduced these provisions to address evidential challenges in proving an accused person’s state of mind, citing past rulings including a 1980 Privy Council decision.

Concluding that the inmates’ substantive arguments lacked merit, the Court dismissed their application, leaving no further legal barriers to scheduling their executions.

Court of Appeal rejects bid to stay execution of drug courier over disciplinary complaint

On 5 September 2025, the Court of Appeal also rejected Pannir’s attempt to stay his execution.

Pannir argued that his testimony was necessary for an ongoing disciplinary complaint against his former lawyer.

The five-judge panel found that the complaint had no legal bearing on his conviction or sentence.

The Ministry of Home Affair (MHA)s’ policy was upheld, affirming that executions may only be halted if proceedings directly affect the conviction, sentence, or involve state-initiated matters.

The Court also rejected Pannir’s arguments under Article 12(1) of the Constitution, ruling that there had been no unequal treatment. This decision effectively closed his last avenue to delay his execution.

MHA affirms constitutionality of drug law presumptions following apex court ruling

The MHA issued a statement on 9 September 2025 welcoming the Court’s decisions.

It reiterated that Sections 17 and 18 of the MDA, which allow statutory presumptions of possession and knowledge, are crucial for combating drug trafficking.

Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam has previously argued that these presumptions, first introduced in 1973 and reaffirmed in 2023, remain essential for deterrence.

The Ministry emphasised that Singapore’s strict policies have kept drug abuse rates among the lowest globally.

Meanwhile, on 13 September 2025, families of Datchinamurthy and Jumaat joined in a clemency appeal to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

The letters, also signed on behalf of families of Saminathan and Lingkesvaran, were delivered to the Istana mailroom by relatives accompanied by journalist Kirsten Han and members of Student Actions for Transformative Justice (SATU).

The four prisoners have each spent between seven and ten years on death row.

With the courts dismissing their challenges, and clemency appeals pending, advocates warn that executions could be scheduled at any time.

The solidarity rally at Hong Lim Park will highlight these cases while demanding systemic change.

Howe urged Singaporeans to “come and tell the AGC and the Government—there’s blood on your hands, end the killing spree now.”

In separate news, alleged trafficker released after charge withdrawn

In a separate development, Benny Kee Soon Chuan, a 32-year-old Singaporean, is set to be released from remand after the prosecution applied for a discharge not amounting to acquittal on 8 September 2025.

Kee had been held for more than 11 months after his arrest in Thailand and extradition to Singapore on a capital drug trafficking charge in September 2024.

Described by Thai authorities as a high-level trafficker linked to a transnational drug network, Kee allegedly dealt in methamphetamine, ketamine, and Ecstasy, destined for Singapore and Australia.

Assets worth approximately S$585,000 were seized during his arrest, and he had reportedly entered Thailand using a Vanuatu passport.

The withdrawal of the charge, although not a full acquittal, permits the prosecution to revive proceedings should new evidence emerge.

Source: theonlinecitizen.com, Staff, September 18, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde