Arguably one of the most sensational cases recently was the stipulated date of the execution of Singaporean drug trafficker Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin on Friday (18 Sep).
44-year-old Suhail was first sentenced to death in 2016 for drug trafficking when police found close to 40g of heroin on him.
After a public outcry, an emergency Judicial Review application was filed on Thursday (17 Sep), to which the High Court ordered an interim stay of Suhail’s death sentence.
The Judicial Review will commence later today (22 Sep) at 2.30pm at level 9 of the Supreme Court.
This is however the last chance Ravi Madasamy, or M Ravi, Suhali’s pro bono lawyer, would have to overturn the Court of Appeal’s previous decision to uphold the verdict of the death sentence.
After M Ravi filed a Criminal Motion to reopen the case, the Court has to observe a 2-stage process.
The first is the Leave stage, which the Court of Appeal granted last Thursday (17 Sep).
At the second and final stage which is the Review, M. Ravi has to persuade the Court of Appeal to overturn its previous decision – which was to proceed with Suhail’s execution.
In a Facebook post on Monday (21 Sep), M. Ravi alleged that Deputy Chief Prosecutor Francis Ng SC had revealed on Friday (18 Sep) that the Attorney-General (AG) office and the Singapore Prison Services (SPS) used unlawful means to obtain confidential material between Syed Suhail and his previous lawyer Ramesh Tiwari.
Therefore in today’s hearing, he will be urgently seeking instructions to make applications against the AG, the government of Singapore, and all the relevant prosecutors.
In closing, M. Ravi declared that the government must hold an independent and impartial Commission of Inquiry into these allegedly unlawful practices.
He urged for this “full audit” as it would be life-or-death for those waiting on death row.
M. Ravi also claims that there are 55 prisoners facing death sentences in the coming months.
Today’s hearing will likely be a huge turning point not only for Syed Suhail and M. Ravi, but all prisoners on death row in Singapore.
As we await the outcome, let’s keep a close eye on the latest updates.
What are your thoughts on this case so far? Share them in the comments below.
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Featured image adapted from Manifold Times and Facebook.
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