Singapore’s highest court on 26 November 2021 upheld the death sentences of two men convicted of conspiring to traffic at least 1.34kg of cannabis in March 2016.[1][2] Malaysian Kamalnathan Muniandy, 27, and Singaporean Chandroo Subramaniam, 52, had denied involvement in the operation and knowledge of the drugs.[1][2]
The same judgment dismissed the appeal of a third man, Malaysian national Pravinash Chandran, 26, who is serving life imprisonment with 15 strokes of the cane for possessing the drugs.[1][2] The High Court had found Pravinash was a mere courier, and the prosecution certified that he had helped disrupt drug trafficking activities.[1][2]
What the court decided
On 5 March 2016, Kamalnathan and Pravinash entered Singapore through the Woodlands Checkpoint, and the drugs were placed in Pravinash’s haversack when they reached Kranji MRT station.[1][2] The pair stopped at a nearby coffee shop, where Kamalnathan telephoned a man identified only as Suren, before meeting Chandroo at Kranji Road, where Chandroo handed them money and empty plastic bags.[1][2] Central Narcotics Bureau officers arrested all three shortly after they parted ways and found the drugs in Pravinash’s haversack.[1][2]
The High Court judge relied heavily on Pravinash’s account, which named Kamalnathan as the man in charge and Chandroo as the intended recipient, and the Court of Appeal agreed the judge had been right to reject the other two men’s stories.[1] Kamalnathan had claimed the three blocks of drugs were certificates to pass to an uncle, while Chandroo gave inconsistent accounts of the $4,000 found on him.[1] Justices Andrew Phang, Steven Chong and Belinda Ang concluded there was no basis to overturn the convictions or set the mandatory sentences aside.[1][3]
