SINGAPORE: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE OF TWO INDIAN-ORIGIN MEN CONVICTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING

December 1, 2021:

Singapore’s highest court on 26 November 2021 upheld the death sentence of two Indian-origin men, who had been convicted of conspiring to traffic at least 1.34 kg of cannabis in March 2016, The Straits Times reported.
Malaysian Kamalnathan Muniandy, 27, and Singaporean Chandroo Subramaniam, 52, had denied being involved in the operation and knowing about the drugs.
The Court of Appeal also dismissed an appeal made by a third man involved in the case, Indian-origin Malaysian national Pravinash Chandran, who was sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane for having the drugs in his possession.
Earlier, the High Court had found that Pravinash, 26, was a mere courier of the drugs, and the prosecution had certified that he had helped disrupt drug trafficking activities.
On 5 March 2016, Kamalnathan and Pravinash arrived in Singapore via the Woodlands Checkpoint, a causeway link with southern Peninsular Malaysia.
When they arrived at Kranji MRT (rail) station, the drugs were placed in Pravinash's haversack. Both men then went to a nearby coffee shop where Kamalnathan called a man identified as Suren.
They later went to Kranji Road, where they established contact with Chandroo, who handed them money and empty plastic bags.
The trio was arrested by officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) shortly after parting ways. The drugs were found in Pravinash's haversack, said the court in a judgment released on 26 November.
While the men gave varying accounts, the High Court judge relied heavily on Pravinash's account, which implicated Kamalnathan as the one in charge of the operation and Chandroo as the person who the drugs were meant to be delivered to, said Justices Andrew Phang, Steven Chong and Belinda Ang.
They found that the High Court judge had been right in rejecting Kamalnathan and Chandroo's accounts.