Execution looms: 'Mum prepares funeral for son still alive in S'pore'

“Her voice cracked as she described the unthinkable: preparing a funeral while her son still breathes.”

That was how Singaporean activist and former lawyer M Ravi recounted his heart-wrenching exchange with the mother of Malaysian K Datchinamurthy, after telling her that her 39-year-old son is set to be executed this Thursday for smuggling 44.96g of diamorphine into the republic.

“This is the cruelty of the death penalty: families must count the hours, wait outside Changi Prison through the night, and be ready to collect the body of the child they raised,” he added.

In a Facebook post, Ravi said he received notice of the execution of his former client yesterday.

Describing Datchinamurthy (above) as one of the “gentlest souls” he has ever met, he argued that the case revealed how “fragile” due process can be.

“The prison authorities once forwarded Datchinamurthy’s confidential correspondence to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, a breach of prisoner rights that the court later ruled unlawful.

“Yet he will still be put to death,” he said.

On death row

Datchinamurthy, who was first sentenced to death in 2015 following his arrest in 2011, was scheduled to be executed in 2022.

However, he obtained a stay of execution from the Singapore High Court pending his legal suit against the Singapore government over his death sentence.

He is also one of four Malaysians on death row in Singapore whom Suhakam had highlighted earlier this month as part of its appeal for Putrajaya to intervene in their executions.

The other three are P Pannir Selvam, S Saminathan, and R Lingkesvaran.

Besides urging Putrajaya to enact all possible diplomatic and legal measures to safeguard the rights and lives of Malaysians on death row abroad, the commission had also called for the engagement of international and regional human rights mechanisms to ensure their cases receive due consideration.

It also said the government should continue Malaysia’s leadership role in advocating for the progressive abolition of the death penalty at the regional and international levels.

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