Nagaenthran ‘Nagen’ Dharmalingam attracted public support, including from celebrities, in an effort to commute his mandatory death sentence on the basis that he was mentally disabled.
Sitting on a stool in jeans, joggers and a black and green polo shirt, Nagaenthran Dharmalingham stared at the camera, a blank expression on his face.
Hanged at first light, as is the practice in the city state, Nagaenthran’s death was a heartbreaking conclusion for his family and supporters. For years, they had attempted to have his sentence commuted to life in prison, arguing in court that his low IQ of 69 amounted to a mental disability that according to international convention should spare him from capital punishment.
But as the condemned man addressed the court’s three judges from behind a glass screen in the dock, he appeared to know it was the end.