IPOH: We accept Nagaenthran ‘s sentence with a heavy heart, says Sarmila Dharmalingam.
Sarmila, 36, who is Nagaenthran’s eldest sister, said the family would not be taking any further action.
“He is no longer with us. It is painful but we accept this fate.
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“We want to thank everyone in Malaysia and Singapore who have been helping, supporting and praying for Nagaenthran, including from social media platforms,” she told reporters at the family house in Tanjung Rambutan on Wednesday (April 27).
Sarmila added that her mother was in the bus when the execution happened.
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“She took the bus to Singapore in the morning with two relatives, hoping that there might be some last minute changes on his execution.
“Right now, we are trying to get her to talk and eat a little bit,” she said.
Nagaenthran mother, Panchalai Supermaniam, was too distraught to speak and was accompanied by their relatives at the house.
Sarmila said the last time she saw her brother was on Sunday (April 24).
“Together with my two siblings and husband, we met him and we talked a bit about some personal matters.
“Growing up, he was a quiet brother and over the years he became more humble.
“A few days before Deepavali last year, we brought him an outfit with shoes. He hesitated to wear the sports shoes because they were too big for him.
“But we told him that this is the current trend and so happily wore them. The clothes are with us now and they still smell like him,” she said.
Nagaenthran’s funeral will be taking place on Friday (April 29), where he will be buried at Buntong around 2pm.
The execution of Nagaenthran, 34, came after a Singapore court rejected his final appeal against the death sentence imposed for drug trafficking on March 29.
He was detained in 2009 and convicted of trafficking 42.72g of heroin in 2010, which carries the mandatory death penalty.
His appeal against the conviction and sentence were dismissed in 2011.
His case drew public attention late last year with local as well as international appeals against his death sentence, based on arguments over his intellectual disability.
Among those calling for clemency were British billionaire Richard Branson and actor Stephen Fry, who pleaded for Nagaenthren’s life to be spared in a Twitter video directed to Singaporean leaders President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
He was supposed to be hanged on Nov 10, 2021, but found temporary respite on Nov 9 after the court was told he tested positive for Covid-19 when he appeared for a last-bid attempt against his death sentence.