KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — The Malaysian Bar today called on the Singapore government to commute the death sentences of Malaysian Pausi Jefridin and Singaporean Roslan Bakar, as both have intellectual disabilities.

AG Kalidas, the president of the Malaysian Bar, was referring to the scheduled execution of Pausi and Roslan on February 16 in Singapore over drug trafficking convictions.

“Both men are suffering from some form of intellectual disability,” he said.

According to the human rights movement Transformative Justice Collective’s Twitter thread on February 12, both Pausi and Roslan were arrested in 2008 and sentenced to death in April 2010 over drug trafficking offences.

The movement added the lawyers for Pausi and Roslan had in 2017 applied for them to be resentenced to life imprisonment by arguing that they were couriers and suffered from an abnormality of mind due to reduced intellectual functioning, but Singapore’s High Court and Court of Appeal rejected in 2017 and 2018 their applications for resentencing.

Citing the High Court judgment in Singapore which rejected the applications for resentencing for the duo, the Malaysian Bar today noted that Pausi’s lawyer had — during the application for resentencing — told the court that his client has an IQ level of 67, and “had an arrested or retarded development of mind as a result of his exceptionally low and restricted education”.

Citing the same court judgment, the Malaysian Bar noted that Roslan’s lawyer had similarly told the court that his client had “limited capacity for judgment, decision-making, consequential thinking, impulse control and executive function.”

“Due to their cognitive limitations, these individuals are often subjected to stigma and discrimination associated with their disabilities.  

“In this case, Pausi and Roslan’s intellectual conditions may have contributed toward their poor assessment of the very serious risks in agreeing to carry out the acts which were the basis of their criminal charges,” the Malaysian Bar said.

The Malaysian Bar went on to point out that the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) prohibits the execution of a mentally impaired person, and noted that both Malaysia and Singapore had signed this international convention.

While acknowledging Singapore’s strict policy on drug trafficking, the Malaysian Bar expressed hope that Singapore would uphold its commitment made under the CRPD.

“The Malaysian Bar therefore humbly calls upon the Government of Singapore to consider granting clemency to both Pausi and Roslan,” Kalidas said in urging for the duo to not be put to death.

“While we understand and respect the Singapore judicial process, we are hoping that clemency can still be afforded to them.  

“The death penalty is an irreversible act of punishment, and we ask that the Government of Singapore consider the cognitive impairments of Pausi and Roslan, and whether carrying out the death sentence is justified. The circumstances call for humanity and compassion,” the Malaysian Bar said.

Previously, Singapore had in November 2021 planned to execute another Malaysian citizen similarly convicted on drug trafficking charges, Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam whose IQ was 69. Nagaenthran’s execution was stayed, as he has an ongoing court challenge against the execution due to his mental disability and it has yet to be heard and decided by the courts.

The human rights group Lawyers for Liberty today said it is unacceptable to execute Pausi, when the Singapore courts have not decided on Nagaenthran’s case which raised questions on the legality of executing a mentally disabled person with IQ levels of below 70.

About their families

The Transformative Justice Collective movement had on February 12 questioned why there seems to be a “pattern” of persons assessed with low IQ levels ending up on death row, while noting that the families of both Pausi and Roslan were notified of the February 16 execution just seven days in advance on February 9.

The Transformative Justice Collective had also highlighted the difficulties faced by Pausi’s family in arranging travel to Singapore on such short notice, and claimed that Roslan had questioned why his execution was scheduled when his current lawyer was on medical leave and that he has yet to be able to consider if he needs to find and appoint a new lawyer.

Separately, Sangkari Pranthaman — the sister of Malaysian citizen Pannir Selvam Pranthaman who is on death row in Singapore over a drug courier offence — today said Pausi’s Sabahan family had no choice but to take the risk of travelling to Singapore to visit him in prison amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“I spoke to Roslan’s family and his sister explained that his execution date was scheduled

suddenly. While he is still trying to work out if he needs new legal counsel and if yes who to

engage, Roslan is now getting the news that he would be hanged. Roslan’s sister

frustratedly stresses out that the notice of execution was really short, and it is not scheduled

with the best interest of inmates in mind,” Sangkari said in a statement today.

Alternative solutions or focus?

Non-governmental organisation Sebaran Kasih today urged Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah to ask Singapore for statistics on the number of Malaysians sentenced to death in Singapore, and the number of death sentences reserved and commuted on appeal for Malaysians, and the number of instances in which clemency has been granted to Malaysians.

Sebaran Kasih claimed that Singapore was allegedly practising “double standards” in death sentences against Malaysians and Singaporeans, and argued that failure to provide the requested statistics would mean that such an assumption would hold some ground.

Sebaran Kasih pointed out the irreversible nature of the death penalty as there is no way to remedy if an error arises and a convict is proven to be innocent.

“Singapore’s harsh stance towards crime is commendable, but drug trafficking does not meet

the threshold of most serious crimes and thus should not be punished to death. Offenders

could otherwise be rehabilitated. 

“Minor drug crimes are often linked to other social problems such as poverty, drug abuse, unemployment, and the disintegration of the family. These are what we need to focus on. These are problems that cannot be solved by executions,” Sebaran Kasih said.