Pannir gets last minute reprieve ahead of tomorrow's execution

Summary

• Malaysian prisoner Pannir Selvam Pranthaman’s execution in Singapore tomorrow has been temporarily halted by the High Court due to unresolved legal issues.

• His case is affected by an ongoing constitutional challenge to Singapore’s drug laws and a misconduct complaint against his former lawyer.

Malaysian prisoner Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, who is scheduled to be executed in Singapore tomorrow morning, has been granted a temporary reprieve by the Singapore High Court.

Lawyers for Liberty advisor N Surendran told Malaysiakini that Singapore’s prison authorities informed Pannir’s family tonight that Judge Woo Bih Li granted a stay on the execution pending the conclusion of two unresolved matters.

“The execution tomorrow will not happen. I’m elated to say it will not happen,” he told Malaysiakini when contacted.

Citing Woo’s judgment, Surendran explained the first issue is an ongoing legal challenge to the constitutionality of Sections 18(1) and (2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973.

The provisions presume anyone found in custody of a controlled drug is also in possession of the drug and is aware of it, unless proven otherwise.

The legality of these two provisions is being litigated in Singapore’s apex court and its outcome could have an impact on Pannir’s conviction.

The other issue, Surendan said, is that Pannir still has an ongoing case involving a misconduct complaint against his former lawyer.

Pannir, now 37, was convicted in 2017 for acting as a courier to import 51.84g of heroin, an offence that carries the mandatory death penalty. The crime took place at the Woodlands checkpoint on Sept 3, 2014.

Several NGOs and government MPs have pleaded for the execution to be halted and for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to intervene.

Earlier today, seven UN experts also joined the call to halt the execution and urged Malaysian authorities to support Pannir’s case.

“We reiterate that under international law, only crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing meet the threshold for the death penalty. Mandatory death sentences are inherently over-inclusive and inevitably violate human rights law,” they said.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty does more than any other punishment to curb or prevent drug trafficking,” they added.

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COMMENT | Our hope for the future is to keep Pannir alive