Pannir gets stay of execution in dramatic last-minute decision by Singapore court

A Singapore court today granted Malaysian death row inmate Pannir Selvam Pranthaman a stay of execution, just hours before his death sentence was due to be carried out early tomorrow, six years after he was similarly taken off the noose .

Pannir, a drug courier who was controversially convicted and sentenced to death, had filed an application seeking a stay of execution at the appeals court, as he seeks a final bid for clemency after exhausting other legal avenues.

Judge Woo Bih Li ordered a stay of execution for Pannir pending the outcome of his complaint to the Law Society of Singapore against his former lawyer Ong Ying Ping, as well as pending a decision on the constitutionality of the presumptions contained in Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act.

He noted that proceedings against Ong would require Pannir's participation as a key witness and that his execution would mean that he would be denied the right to seek redress.

"Furthermore, there is a strong public interest in the proper prosecution of his complaint against Ong. For these reasons, the applicant (Pannir) submits that his execution should be stayed while the proceedings against Ong are ongoing. This may include, if necessary, the pursuit of his complaint 'all the way to Singapore’s highest court'," said Woo in his judgement.

In 2019, Pannir was granted a similar stay of execution just hours before his scheduled execution.

He is awaiting the outcome of a complaint against Ong which he lodged with the Law Society in September last year.

Yesterday, Pannir's family lamented the silence of the Law Society - the organisation that represents all lawyers in the city-state - on complaints against Ong.

Ong was supposed to represent his brother late last year in a case involving the illegal disclosure of confidential correspondence of death row inmates.

In a letter to the Law Society, Pannir's sister Sangkari Pranthaman said Ong had visited Pannir in prison to pressure him into relieving him as his lawyer, but later lied in court that it was Pannir's decision to release him.

They said this was despite the family paying Ong S$7,000 or RM23,000 for his legal services.

It is understood that the Law Society had formed a committee to investigate the complaint, but there was no news since even as Pannir's execution date was approaching.

"Pannir is the complainant and material witness in this complaint. Given the nature of this complaint, if Pannir is killed, the complaint will almost certainly be dismissed because the main witness will be unavailable," Sangkari wrote.

Last October, Singapore's Court of Appeal found that the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Singapore Prison Service had breached inmates’ right to confidentiality when privileged correspondence and documents were forwarded from the SPS to AGC.

Three of the 13 appellants were awarded a paltry damage of S$10 each for copyright breaches.

Following the court ruling, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said there would be no further action.

Prominent Singapore rights lawyer M Ravi, who also represented Pannir, said the letters involved privileged communications between the inmates’ and their lawyers.

"This has certainly undermined the administration of the death penalty in Singapore and the breach is egregious under international law especially when it involved interference with solicitor and client’s privileged information," he said on Sunday.

Twenty civil society and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have called on the Malaysian government to take "immediate and decisive action" to stop the execution.

They said Pannir’s case was rife with violations of international human rights laws, adding that the circumstances of the offence as well as his background had been ignored as the death penalty for drugs was a mandatory sentence.

At press time, neither Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim nor the home ministry has issued any public statement appealing to Singapore authorities to spare Pannir's life.