SINGAPORE, Sept 25 — Singapore has halted the execution of Malaysian death row inmate Datchinamurthy Kataiah, scheduled for this morning at Singapore’s Changi Prison.
His family’s lawyer, Surendran Nagarajan, confirmed the matter when contacted by Bernama today and said the family was informed of the development through a call from the prison after midnight.
“We have no further information at this point. We are praying for the best outcome,” he said.
Datchinamurthy, 39, was convicted in 2011 of trafficking 44.96g of diamorphine into Singapore and sentenced to death in 2015.
He has stated that he did not know the bag he was holding had contained packages of drugs, thinking instead they were Chinese medicine.
He was granted a stay of execution ahead of his initial execution date on April 29, 2022, to allow judicial review proceedings to commence.
Datchinamurthy is among four Malaysians facing execution after their most recent appeals were dismissed.
The other Malaysians are Saminathan Selvaraju, Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, and Pannir Selvam Pranthaman.
