Drug trafficker's eleventh hour bid to escape the death penalty fails

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s highest court on Thursday (Jul 13) dismissed an eleventh hour motion to halt the execution of Malaysian drug trafficker Prabagaran Srivijayan. He was sentenced to death in 2014 for importing 22.24g of diamorphine into Singapore. 

The 29-year-old will be hanged on Friday at dawn.

Prabagaran’s lawyer filed the motion on Tuesday, seeking to delay the execution on the basis that the Malaysian has an appeal pending before the Court of Appeal in Kuala Lumpur.

His lawyers in Malaysia are seeking a court order directing the Malaysian government to start proceedings against Singapore in the International Court of Justice over concerns about Prabagaran's trial, the Singapore Court of Appeal heard on Thursday.

In dismissing the motion, Judges of Appeal Chao Hick Tin, Andrew Phang and Tay Yong Kwang called the attempt to halt Prabagaran’s execution because of proceedings in another country “an abuse of process”.

“The judiciary of each country is entitled to act in accordance with its Constitution and its laws," Judge Chao said. "No judiciary of one country interferes in the judicial process of another country."

Echoing its judgement in the 2016 case of convicted Malaysian murderer Kho Jabing, the Court of Appeal said: “It is impossible to have a functioning legal system if all legal decisions were open to constant and unceasing challenge. In our judgement, the principle of finality applies with equal or even greater force to attempts to impugn a decision made by the Singapore court in proceedings brought before foreign courts and tribunals.”

“Due process was accorded to (Prabagaran) before the death sentence was imposed upon him," Judge Chao said. 

Prabagaran had sought, unsuccessfully, to overturn his conviction in 2016. Also dismissed last year was a motion by his lawyers challenging the constitutionality of portions of the Misuse of Drugs Act relating to the death penalty.

“To put it plainly, what (Prabagaran) is seeking to do is to delay the judicial process indefinitely," said Judge Chao. "To allow such an application … would only encourage convicted offenders to impede and protract the course of justice by commencing proceedings in overseas courts or tribunals. This should not and cannot be tolerated.

“There comes a point, after the appeal process has been completed and the application for review has been decided, the legal process must recede into the background and give way to the search for repose," Judge Chao added. “Difficult though it may be, (Prabagaran) must accept that that time has come.”

The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine trafficked is more than 15g.