We’ve finally
done it. On the morning of 27 April 2022, Mr. Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, a
Malaysian Tamil who was caught with drugs in his possession was hanged after a
decade in death row.
Mr.
Dharmalingam’s fate was never in doubt. Despite the valiant efforts of his
lawyer, Mr. M. Ravi and activist like Ms. Kirstin Han, the only thing that kept
Mr. Dharmalingam alive from November 2021 onwards, was Covid-19. Despite
international pressure and appeals from the likes of the United Nations Human
Rights Office and Sir Richard Branson, countless postings on social media,
letters to everyone outside of Singapore and numerous vigils, the Singapore Government
was resolute and hanged Mr. Dharmalingam.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/04/singapore-urged-halt-two-imminent-executions
The government
has milked this image for everything that it’s worth. For example, whenever, a
Westerner ends up on the wrong end of our more draconian policies, there’s
always a diplomatic row. The end result is that we end up popular with large
segments in the West (people saying that their respective nations need to learn
from the West) and the government does look like it is standing up to the
Western world.
The activist
can make a lot of noise but at the end of the day, the government always points
to the fact that the death-penalty has plenty of support. The undisputed fact
that Mr. Dharmalingam’s IQ is 69 (Below average) didn’t matter to our
government. As far as they were concerned, Mr. Dharmalingam was an evil
mastermind causing the downfall of Singapore by providing people with drugs. One
only has to look at the Facebook page of former Nominated Member of Parliament,
Mr. Calvin Cheng’s Facebook page to get a gist of the defence of hanging Mr.
Dharmalingam:
There is,
however, one question that needs to be asked. Are we, as a society, so eager to
“uphold” the law that we end up breaking it? Are we really combating the
scourge of drugs or are we merely waging a war on poor people?
I’ve argued in
my November 2021 piece “DRUG DEALING 101” that the statistics do not support
the argument that hanging is a major deterrent. While the number of arrests for
drug abuse remains relatively low on the global scale, the figure has remained
fairly constant, which would indicate that despite the obvious risk, people are
still using drugs, which means that drugs are still getting into Singapore.
Why do people
still carry drugs despite the obvious penalty they face? Contrary to what Mr.
Cheng suggests, the real problem is poverty rather than “morals.” It’s been
argued by the likes of Mr. Cheng that while slow, Mr. Dharmalingam had the
capacity to tell right from wrong, hence he deserved it for breaking the law.
The question we should have asked was – was he able to choose between the
lesser evil or the greater good. In this case, it was risk getting hanged for
getting drugs into Singapore or having no money to help his family.
Would I do it?
The answer is no. I have enough wits about me to understand that getting hanged
is not worth the price. I am healthy and witty enough to get a source of
income. My IQ is above 100. My circumstances are as far away from Mr. Dharmalingam’s
as possible.
If one looks at
who is setting on death row, you will notice that the demographics are obvious.
You are looking at Malaysian Tamils, who have the highest representation in
what you could call the “Ghetto Class,” or more crudely put – the class that nobody
gives a s*** about.
The Powers that
Be in just about every country planet have realised that if you belong to the
class that nobody gives a s*** about, they can do pretty much what they want to
you. That is precisely the point that Black Lives Matter protestors were trying
to make in 2020. Blacks get brutalised by the police because, well, if you ask
enough people in White suburbia, they pretty much deserved it. The same is true
for many Malaysian Tamils.
There is the
case of Mr. Datchinamurthy a/l Kataiah (“Datchi”), who is set for execution
tomorrow (30 April 2022). Unlike Mr. Dharmalingam, Mr. Datchi is not slow. If
anything, knowing his rights is the problem as far as the state is concerned.
It was found that the prison service was passing privileged correspondences between
him and has lawyer to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). One doesn’t need a
law degree to know that this is legally incorrect. It’s violation of privilege.
Mr. Datchi launched
a legal challenge (which is within his rights) and the date for that hearing is
20 May 2022. However, his execution has been set for 29 April 2022. Nobody is
disputing that Mr. Datchi was caught with the offending drugs. What is being
challenged is the way in which the state has trampled on his rights. One would
expect that while Mr. Datchi is probably prepared to be hanged, he’s also going
to try and buy more time and if his basic rights have been violated, he should use
that.
At the time of
writing, the judge has granted a stay of execution until his legal challenge
can be heard. However, the Attorney-General is pushing for an urgent appeal.
Why is the AGC so keen to execute him? Time is on their side.
Have we reached
a stage where we are telling ourselves that all of societies problems are due
to “poor people?” There is no evidence to suggests that executing Mr.
Dharmalingam and Mr. Datchi would stop the drug trade. It is apparently not
important that Mr. Dharmalingam’s less than average IQ was a matter of
consideration or that the AGC and Prison Service had committed a violation of
Mr. Datchi’s rights. The law is in the favour of the state and the state has
effectively won this fight. So, why is the state so keen to get rid of people
like Mr. Dharmalingam and Mr. Datchi?
Would the state
be as eager to wipe them from the face of this earth if they were from any
other social class except the one, they are from? When six law students got
caught cheating in the bar exam, the initial reaction from the authorities was
to give them a “second chance” and their names were initially kept out of the
public eye. Would the state be so keen to give “second chances” if they were
from the class that nobody gives a s** about?
I’m not saying
that drugs are not a problem. I am not even talking about the legalities or moralities
of the death penalty. I just believe that we need to ask ourselves if we are
really at war with drugs and poverty or if we’re merely at war with poor people
for being poor. This is the question that needs to be asked if we are serious
about dealing with the social problems we claim that we want to solve.
1 comment
Thank you for this summary Tang.
I am deeply shaken by the fact that not only does our race have a very important role in how justice is meted out, our economic ability as well. It then becomes untenable for poor people whose race and economic status will be a factor against them in the courts of justice as well as in the courts of public opinion where those who do not share our race or economic status hold sway. It is just untenable.
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