Tag Archives: DEATH PENALTY

We refer to the cases of Malaysians S Prabagaran and K Datchinamurthy who are on death row in Singapore's Changi Prison on charges of drug trafficking. They have strenuously maintained their innocence, and repeatedly complained that they have been deprived of a fair trial due to a flagrant breach of the doctrine of separation of powers.

4 men, aged 20 to 28, have been arrested by the Singapore Police Force following investigations ino the murder of a 34 year-old man at St James Power Station on Sunday. The first suspect was identified and arrested on the day of the murder. Investigators hen established the identities of the 3 other assailants and arrested them on Monday.

According to anti-death penalty activist Ravi M, Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assured his team of lawyers and activists that it would study the possibility of bringing Singapore to the International Court of Justice over the case of Prabagaran Srivijayan, a drug smuggler of Malaysian origin who was caught in Singapore.

On 13 February 2017, the Singapore Prison Services had issued a letter rejecting our application to meet with our client S. Prabagaran, who is on death row in Singapore. We deeply regret this refusal by the Singapore authorities.

Singapore Anti-Death Penalty lawyer M Ravi has sent a ICJ memo to the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an effort to save a drug trafficker on death row, Prabagaran A/L Srivijayan.

Chijioke Stephan Obioha, Nigerian who was first arrested in 2007 for trafficking Marijuana, was hung at dawn yesterday in Changi Prison. After his last ditch criminal motion was thrown out by the Court of Appeal on Thursday evening, it was confirmed that, bar a miracle, he would be hung when the sun rises again. Chijioke's execution brought an end to his 8 years on death row - an ordeal, which Human Rights advocate, Mr Ravi, described as 'unprecedented mental anguish.'

Recent comments from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, using the issue of violence against women to justify the death penalty. Street assaults by strangers may be relatively uncommon here, but they are certainly not unheard of, as shown by the steady flow of media reports of public transport assault and upskirting cases. What women and girls who face violence need is usually not a system of extreme punishments, but more awareness and support from others around them, as well as more robust and sensitive procedures for enabling and encouraging reporting and intervention.

I am truly surprised that the AGC have decided to take the lawyers to task for acting in the Kho Jabing matter. I know every lawyer on this team worked tirelessly, fearlessly and sacrificially to save a life from death, in this case, the life of Kho Jabing. I would state categorically that this is the sad reality of the practice of law in Singapore, that we have to be subjected to personal statements and attacks of this nature and with the release of media statements knowing that the Main Stream Media will not give us a fair reporting.

I am disappointed with the death penalty ruling against disgraced policeman Iskandar Rahmat who was found guilty of murdering two men. The death penalty is not going to solve the problem, it is not going to bring back the dead but add to the body count. It is a primitive form of punishment that has no scientific evidence for deterrence. This is not the kind of solution we want for a democratic country that respects human rights. We are better than that. Iskandar Rahmat should be spared the gallows and spend the rest of his life reflecting on his actions in prison.

36 year-old Iskandar Rahmat, a disgraced former police officer who fell into debt and faced expulsion from the Singapore Police Force, was sentenced to death by hanging on Friday by the High Court after he was convicted of both charges of murdering a father and son in their Kovan home.