Death row inmate granted stay of execution two days before scheduled hanging

SINGAPORE: A death row inmate was granted a stay of execution about two days before he was scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday (Feb 26), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Thursday.

Hamzah Ibrahim was sentenced to death in 2017 after he was convicted of possessing 26.29g of heroin for the purpose of trafficking. 

In response to CNA's queries, MHA said Hamzah was scheduled for execution on Wednesday as he had "exhausted all legal channels" in relation to his conviction and sentence, including the clemency process. 

On Monday, he was issued an order of respite by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. An order of respite is not a pardon.

MHA said that the Cabinet had advised the president that such an order should be issued for Hamzah after taking into account "recent developments" in the courts.

This development, which may be relevant to Hamzah's case, is the Court of Appeal’s decision to grant a stay in execution for convicted drug courier Pannir Selvam Pranthaman.

PANNIR'S CASE

Pannir was convicted on May 2, 2017 for importing no less than 51.84g of heroin into Singapore and was sentenced to death.

He was scheduled for execution on Feb 20 but he had sought permission to make a post-appeal application in a capital case before the Court of Appeal.

Judge of the Appellate Division Woo Bih Li heard the application and on Feb 19 granted Pannir permission to make his appeal, hence ordering a stay of execution.

The judge said he ordered it pending the determination of Pannir’s complaint to the Law Society against his former lawyer and the outcome of a constitutional challenge.

That decision was the latest in Pannir's long-drawn fight against his capital punishment.

Following his conviction and sentence, he filed an appeal but this was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Feb 9, 2019.

After the dismissal, Pannir, his family and his lawyers submitted petitions for clemency to the president, who then declined to commute the death sentence. 

Pannir and his family were informed that he would be executed on May 24, 2019. 

Three days before this scheduled execution, Pannir filed another application seeking a stay of his execution to challenge the outcome of the clemency petition, among other grounds.  

The stay was granted and Pannir was given time to file his application. 

Another series of applications and judicial review proceedings followed, including one where he was part of a group of inmates who sought recourse over the Singapore Prison Service's (SPS) disclosure of prisoners' correspondence with other people to the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC). 

The court ruled in October 2024 that the SPS and AGC had acted in breach of prisoners' confidentiality by disclosing and retaining their letters.