Singapore’s mandatory death penalty under fire over systemic injustices

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — Singapore’s use of the mandatory death penalty is facing mounting criticism, as affected families and rights groups highlight what they describe as systemic injustices, prosecutorial overreach and worsening conditions for prisoners on death row.

Decisions on how to frame charges, prosecute cases, and whether to grant a certificate of substantive assistance have direct implications for prisoners like Pannir Selvam Pranthaman.

“To us, this really reinforces the unjust and arbitrary nature of the mandatory death penalty.

“And in our experience, we’ve heard from family members of people still on death row, or those already executed, that while they are very happy some have received clemency after so many years, it is also deeply distressing to them because they cannot understand why this did not apply to their loved ones. Very often, there are disparities in outcomes between cases,” a human rights activist said at a joint press conference today.

According to the activists, five men are now believed to be at imminent risk of execution in Singapore.

They urged the Malaysian government to take all possible steps to protect the rights of its nationals facing execution there, and to press for a complete abolition of the death penalty both domestically and internationally.

Apart from Pannir, the others at risk include Datchinamurthy Kataiah, Saminathan Selvaraju, Lingkesvaran Rajendaren and Jumaat Mohamed Sayed.

While Jumaat is Singaporean, the rest are Malaysians. All five were convicted of drug trafficking and have each spent between seven and 10 years on death row.

Their most recent appeals were dismissed after years of legal struggle.

Pannir’s case

Pannir was convicted in 2017 of importing 51.84g of diamorphine (heroin) into Singapore and sentenced to the mandatory death penalty.

Despite evidence that he was merely a courier and had provided substantial information to the authorities, Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers refused to issue him a certificate of substantive assistance.

“Without such a certificate, the court had no choice but to sentence him to death.

“Through his family, Pannir has also shared information with the Royal Malaysia Police on syndicate operations along Malaysia’s shores.

His case was further undermined by the lack of legal representation during police interrogation, restrictive laws that curtailed post-conviction appeals, the denial of legal aid at the post-appeal stage, and breaches of privileged communication between death row inmates and lawyers,” activists said.

On September 5, the Singapore Court of Appeal dismissed Pannir’s latest application for a stay of execution, even as his disciplinary complaint against his former lawyer remains unresolved.

“The court noted in its judgment that the Law Society of Singapore may need to act urgently to ‘preserve’ Pannir’s testimony before his execution,” activists added.

Legal challenges and barriers

Datchinamurthy, Saminathan, Lingkesvaran and Jumaat also faced obstacles. In August 2022, the four filed a constitutional challenge against the presumptions of guilt in Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act.

They argued that the provisions, which shift the burden of proof onto the accused, violate the presumption of innocence.

While countries such as Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom have rejected such presumptions, Singapore continues to rely on them in drug trafficking cases.

Activists said this undermines fair trial guarantees under international human rights law.

Adding to the challenges, legal aid in Singapore does not cover extraordinary appeals, leaving the men unrepresented for long periods. When foreign senior counsel offered to represent them pro bono, the court forced them to argue the technical request themselves before ultimately rejecting it.

Local lawyers only came on board two years later, but their challenge was dismissed last month.

“With that conclusion, there are no longer any pending proceedings preventing the authorities from scheduling their executions,” activists warned.

Shortened execution notices

Activists also raised concerns about Singapore’s decision to shorten the notice period for repeat execution orders from seven days to four, compounding the trauma faced by prisoners and their families.

Malaysian prisoner Datchinamurthy previously received an execution notice in 2022 while he was still pursuing a case, forcing him to argue for a stay in court on the very same day.

Pannir also received two last-minute reprieves after his execution dates were set.

Human rights concerns

“We remind the Singaporean authorities that international safeguards on the use of the death penalty prohibit executions while appeals or other recourse procedures are pending.

“Surely it must be recognised that Pannir’s involvement — to instruct counsel, give testimony and respond to any evidence raised by his former lawyer — is the only way to ensure a fair outcome in his complaint lodged with the Law Society of Singapore.

“This is especially critical given that the complaint involves a direct conversation between Pannir and his former lawyer; and that several other prisoners on death row who had also filed complaints against this same lawyer have already been executed before their testimonies could be heard,” activists stressed.

Like Pannir, both Datchinamurthy and Saminathan have also had their private correspondence unlawfully copied by the Singapore Prison Service and sent to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, a move the Court of Appeal later ruled to be illegal.

“Individuals on death row in Singapore face extremely prohibitive barriers when filing legal applications after their criminal appeals are concluded.

“They have repeatedly raised how difficult it is to engage lawyers, given the risk of fines, reprimands and heavy costs imposed on lawyers who take up capital cases at later stages.

“Conditions on death row have worsened over the years, with prisoners kept in solitary confinement, communications with their families severely restricted, and prison authorities making it almost impossible for those involved in the same legal challenge to confer with one another,” activists added.

Source: malaysia.news.yahoo.com, Staff, September 22, 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

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