Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Singapore court stays execution of Indian-origin man after he tests Covid positive

Singapore court stays execution of Indian-origin man after he tests Covid positive

A COURT in Singapore on Tuesday (9) stayed the execution of a Malaysian man of Indian origin who has been convicted of drug trafficking after he tested positive for Covid-19.

The high court suspended the scheduled execution of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, 33, until an appeal was heard during an online hearing. He was to be hanged at Changi Prison for drug trafficking on Wednesday (10).


Dharmalingam has been on death row for 11 years and was produced at the Court of Appeal for the hearing of a last-ditch appeal against his death sentence, Channel News Asia reported.

He was later taken away and a judge told the court that the former had tested Covid positive.

Justice Andrew Phang, who appeared with fellow judges Judith Prakash and Kannan Ramesh, said, “this is rather unexpected.”  He also said that the court was of the view that it was not appropriate to proceed, “given the circumstances”.

“The execution is scheduled for tomorrow,” Justice Phang said.

“... If the applicant has been afflicted by Covid-19 ... it’s our view that the execution cannot take place anyway,” the judge said.

Justice Phang adjourned the hearing to a date yet to be fixed and stayed the execution until proceedings are concluded.

Lawyer M Ravi had taken up Dharmalingam’s case at the eleventh hour, ahead of his scheduled hanging on Wednesday. His court application on Monday (8) for a judicial review of the case on grounds of Dharmalingam’s purported mental disability was dismissed but the judge granted a temporary stay of his execution until after Ravi appealed against the dismissal.

No other details of when Dharmalingam tested positive for Covid-19 were given, according to the channel.

The man was sentenced to death in 2010 for importing 42.72 gram of heroin into Singapore in 2009 in a bundle-strapped to his thigh.

The case drew international attention as Dharmalingam’s impending execution neared, with an online petition against his death sentence drawing about 70,000 signatures as of Tuesday and coverage by international media.

Malaysia’s prime minister wrote to his Singapore counterpart on the matter and human rights groups, as well as Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, also weighed in on the issue.

More For You

London-tube-Getty

Members of the public outside Whitechapel Underground Station on February 12, 2025 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

London Tube staff to hold seven-day strike in September

LONDON Underground staff will stage a series of rolling strikes for seven days next month in a dispute over pay and working conditions, the RMT union said on Thursday.

The walkouts will begin on September 5 and involve different groups of staff taking action at different times. The dispute covers pay, shift patterns, fatigue management and plans for a shorter working week, according to the RMT.

Keep ReadingShow less
US says 55 million legal visas under 'continuous review'

US president Donald Trump (L) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Oval Office of the White House on July 16, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

US says 55 million legal visas under 'continuous review'

LEGAL migrants in the US who hold visas to live and work in the country are subject to continuous review, especially students, the State Department cautioned on Thursday (21).

There are 55 million foreigners with valid documents to live in the US.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK-protests-Getty

Protesters from the group Save Our Future & Our Kids Future demonstrate against uncontrolled immigration outside the Cladhan Hotel on August 16, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Immigration: Labour will appeal ruling over aslyum seekers in hotels

MINISTERS will appeal a court decision earlier this week that barred the UK government from accommodating asylum seekers in a hotel, security minister Dan Jarvis said on Friday (22).

The high court on Tuesday (19) granted a temporary injunction to stop migrants from staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, northeast of London, following several weeks of protests outside the hotel, some of them violent.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK student visas for Indians decline; detentions nearly double

The majority of Indian students came for postgraduate-level courses. (Photo: Getty Images)

UK student visas for Indians decline; detentions nearly double

INDIANS granted visas to study at UK universities continued to decline, according to the latest Home Office statistics released on Thursday (21). The majority of Indian students came for postgraduate-level courses, mainly Master’s degrees.

In the year ending June 2025, Indian students were issued 98,014 visas, placing them just behind Chinese students, who received 99,919. Both groups recorded a fall compared with the previous year, with Indian numbers down 11 per cent and Chinese numbers down seven per cent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Imran Khan

Khan, 72, in a social media post following the verdict, said the end of the 'night of oppression' in his country was near. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Pakistan top court grants bail to Imran Khan in May 9 violence cases

PAKISTAN's Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan in eight cases linked to the May 9 violence.

The violence erupted on May 9, 2023, when Khan’s supporters engaged in vandalism and rioting after his detention by law enforcement in Islamabad. Multiple cases were registered against Khan and leaders of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for their alleged involvement.

Keep ReadingShow less