Pannir's family to seek judicial review against govt's decision on probe

Malaysian death row inmate in Singapore, Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, and his family will be challenging the government’s decision not to further probe the information he had given in relation to cross-border drug trafficking.

Lawyer N Surendran said Deputy Home Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah’s earlier statement contradicts the Royal Malaysian Police’s actions, as Bukit Aman officers had recently interviewed Pannir at Changi Prison, Singapore, just several days ago.

"We have now been given instructions by Pannir’s family to immediately commence a legal suit by way of judicial review proceedings against the government of Malaysia for its failure to carry out further investigations in this matter," the lawyer said in a statement today.

Shamsul revealed today that the police had concluded there were no reasonable grounds to justify extending its support to Pannir, who is scheduled for execution in Singapore tomorrow over drug trafficking.

Shamsul said the conclusion was reached after two rounds of police investigations, adding that the information provided by the suspect held no "operational value" for the police.

He added that during the investigation process, police had also detained several individuals named by Pannir, but found no links between them and the suspect’s case.

Last week, DAP national legal bureau chairperson Ramkarpal Singh urged the Singapore government to halt Pannir's execution, citing his role as a key witness in an ongoing police probe.

Ramkarpal said that the Malaysian police are still investigating the drug syndicate which Pannir operated as a mule for, and that several police officers from Bukit Aman were granted access to Pannir at Changi Prison on Sept 27.

Drug conviction

The Singapore High Court, on May 2, 2017, convicted Pannir for importing not less than 51.84g of diamorphine into Singapore. He was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty.

The Singapore Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal on Feb 9, 2018, and a clemency petition to the Singapore president was rejected.

Pannir was granted a stay of execution twice. The first was in May 2019, on the basis that he intended to challenge the rejection of his clemency petition and the public prosecutor’s decision not to issue a certificate of substantive assistance to him.

The second stay of execution was granted in February 2025, pending the determination of a post-appeal application in a capital case.

The Singapore Court of Appeal dismissed his bid for a stay of execution on Sept 6.

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