Skip to main content
| Hans-Günter Meyer-Thompson | international

Singapur. Nagaenthran: Family prays for miracle to halt execution of man with low IQ

Singapur. Nagaenthran: Family prays for miracle to halt execution of man with low IQ

Sarmila Dharmalingam is praying for a miracle. Her brother, Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, is set to be hanged in Singapore's Changi Prison. 

"When I'm alone and I think of my brother, there is pain. But [we need to] be brave and keep on praying - anything can happen," she told the BBC.

In 2009, then 21-year-old Nagaenthran was caught trying to smuggle heroin into Singapore from Malaysia. 

Nagaenthran was initially due to be hanged on Wednesday morning, but was granted a last-minute stay of execution. On Tuesday he was found to have Covid-19 and the execution was further delayed.

The Malaysian citizen was sentenced to death despite an assessment by a medical expert that he has an IQ of 69 - a level recognised as indicating an intellectual disability. (BBC, UK, 09.11.2021)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59172767