By Asia Samachar | Singapore |
It is the end of the road for Kalwant Singh’s legal battle to stop the authorities from hanging him for drug trafficking offences. The Singapore Court of Appeal today (July 6) dismissed the final appeal of the Malaysian for a stay of execution.
“He will be executed tomorrow morning,” rights group Lawyers for Liberty tweeted today.
A number of campaign groups opposed to the death sentence have highlighted the case, as they did with previous cases involving hangings. One of them is pressure group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC).
SEE ALSO: “I will fight till the noose is around my neck”
In a social media entry, TJC shared Kalwant’s case background. It said:
“At trial, Kalwant gave evidence that in 2013, when he was 23 years old, he owed RM 44,000 to an illegal creditor and bookmaker called ‘Anna’ in Malaysia. Anna suggested that Kalwant deliver bundles for him in Singapore to repay the debt. Kalwant, under threat for his inability to pay off the amount, agreed.
“He was to travel from Malaysia to Singapore on Anna’s motorcycle, meet with an individual at a petrol kiosk to collect the bundles (wrapped in black tape) and drop off the bundles with other people, according to instructions sent to him by text message from Anna. Kalwant carried out this task several times in September 2013.
“On 24 October 2013, Kalwant was given six bundles and six transparent packets, which contained a brown granular substance. Kalwant helped wrap the transparent packets in black tape, following which he met Yazid in a car park.
“Officers from CNB ambushed the meeting. In total, six bundles containing at least 120.90g of diamorphine were found in Yazid’s motorcycle box and three bundles containing at least 60.15 g of diamorphine were found in Kalwant’s haversack.
“Kalwant was charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act for trafficking the six bundles to Yazid and for possession of three bundles for the purposes of trafficking. Both Kalwant and Yazid were both found to be couriers by the High Court.”
The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), which describes itself as an independent cross-regional network that campaigns for an end to the death penalty across Asia and the Pacific, had announced a candlelight vigil at the Singapore high commission in Kuala Lumpur tonight.
RELATED STORY:
Singapore to hang Malaysian drug peddler next week, family won’t get another visit (Asia Samachar, 30 June 2022)
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