Drug trafficker 'accorded full due process' under law: PM Lee, Minister Balakrishnan reply to Malaysian counterparts

SINGAPORE: Malaysian drug trafficker Nagaenthran Dharmalingam was accorded full due process under the law, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan told their Malaysian counterparts.

Mr Lee and Dr Balakrishnan's comments were made on Tuesday (Apr 26) - the day before Nagaenthran was executed -  in reply to Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Friday.

Malaysian state news agency Bernama reported on Wednesday that Mr Ismail Sabri and Mr Saifuddin had sent letters to Mr Lee and Dr Balakrishnan this week to ask Singapore's Government to "consider and to commute" Nagaenthran's death sentence.

"Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan replied to their Malaysian counterparts on Apr 26, 2022 to convey that Nagaenthran A/L K Dharmalingam had been accorded full due process under the law," said an MFA spokesperson in response to media queries.

According to Bernama, the letters also stated the Malaysian government's "openness to discuss with the Singapore Government to implement the International Prisoner Transfer Programme between Malaysia and Singapore".

This was the second time such a letter had been sent to the Singapore Government.

In November last year, Mr Ismail Sabri wrote to Mr Lee seeking leniency in Nagaenthran's case. Mr Lee and Dr Balakrishnan had similarly responded that Nagaenthran had been accorded full due process under the law.

In December last year, President Halimah Yacob also replied to Malaysia's king following his appeal for clemency for Nagaenthran.