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Protests against the execution of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam (outside Singapore Embassy in Malaysia)
Photo: FAZRY ISMAIL / EPA
A Malaysian man convicted of drug trafficking has been executed in Singapore, according to his family.
Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam was killed early Wednesday morning, his sister Sarmila Dharmalingam said.
"It is unbelievable that Singapore went ahead with the execution despite international appeals to spare his life," she said.
The family was "extremely sad" and "in a state of shock".
Earlier on Tuesday, a court finally confirmed the planned execution of the 34-year-old after several objections and requests for clemency.
The Malaysian was arrested in 2009 at the age of 21 when he entered Singapore with 43 grams of heroin.
Supporters say he has an IQ of 69 - a score recognized as a mental disability - and was coerced into committing the offence.
Nagaenthran Dharmalingam was found guilty in 2010.
The country's top court believes he knew he was breaking the country's strict laws.
The court also based its decisions on psychiatric reports and concluded that Dharmalingam was not mentally handicapped at the time of the crime.
Reprieve, a human rights organization that opposes the death penalty, said Nagaenthran was "the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice."
The group's director, Maya Foa, said: "Hanging a mentally disabled and mentally ill man is unjustifiable and is a flagrant violation of international laws to which Singapore has signed."
The execution, originally scheduled for November, had sparked numerous protests, including from the European Union.
Singapore resumed executions in March after a two-year hiatus.
At that time, the judicial authorities had hanged a drug dealer.
The city-state is one of more than 30 countries worldwide where drug offenses are still punishable by the death penalty, according to Amnesty International.
wit/AFP/AP
