Lawyers representing Malaysian death row prisoner, S Prabagaran, 29, who is slated to be hanged next Friday have appealed to the Singapore authorities to halt the execution and allow them access to meet the condemned man.

N Surendran and Latheefa Koya said the scheduled hanging must be stopped as Prabagaran's trial and conviction are tainted by a fundamental breach of the right to a fair trial.

“The terrible news (of the proposed execution) was conveyed to Prabagaran's mother, Eswary Vengatasamy by way of a letter dated yesterday from the Singapore Prison Services.

"The letter had asked her to make the necessary funeral arrangements," the lawyers said.

It was reported that Prabagaran's mother Eswary had filed a judicial review at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 16 to compel the government to bring the matter to the ICJ.

However, the High Court had dismissed the application on grounds that this matter involves foreign policy and therefore the court should not interfere.

The lawyers said an appeal against the High Court's dismissal has been filed at the Court of Appeal and is pending.

Surendran and Latheefa said the Singapore government is also aware of this pending application before the Malaysian Court of Appeal to refer Singapore to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for breach of the right for a fair trial.

“So why is Singapore rushing the execution before the court proceedings in Malaysia are concluded?" they asked.

“To carry out the execution despite the pending proceedings in Malaysia would be in breach of international law and would disregard Prabagaran's constitutional rights,” they maintained.

It was also reported in April, that Surendran and Latheefa were not allowed to see Prabagaran. This denial of access to the prisoner was stated in a letter from the Singapore Prisons Services.

Surendran said their formal application as lawyers to interview and take instructions from Prabagaran was denied and this was a total disregard for his fundamental right to consult legal practitioners.

“We call upon the government of Singapore to stay the execution, and allow us immediate access to Prabagaran, as his duly appointed lawyers acting in the pending Malaysian proceedings,” they said.

It was reported that Prabagaran had already exhausted all his legal avenues for appeal in Singapore. However, there is still some room for doubt in his conviction, following certain evidence left out during his trial.

Prabagaran was convicted by the Singapore High Court under Section 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) on July 22, 2014, for allegedly trafficking in 22.24g of diamorphine.