Yesterday, it was reported that Malaysian Members of Parliament (MPs) and NGOs had banded together to urge Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, to intervene in the execution of a Malaysian in Singapore today (February 20).
Following this, the Singapore Court of Appeal granted the death row inmate, Pannir Selvam, a stay of execution.
According to a report by BERNAMA, this happened just hours before Pannir was scheduled to be executed.
A stay of execution is essentially a court order that temporarily suspends the execution of a court judgment or other court order.
Judge of the Appellate Division Woo Bih Li, in his judgement, said that the stay was granted pending the determination of Pannir Selvam’s Post-Appeal Applications in Capital Cases (PACC) application.
Woo permitted Pannir to make a PACC application under Section 60(G) of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969 (SCJA) without setting it down for a hearing.
PACC are applications filed by prisoners awaiting capital punishment (PACP) after all avenues have been exhausted. Pannir had represented himself in the submission.
Permission for him to make a PACC application was granted on the grounds that he has a pending complaint with the Law Society of Singapore against his former counsel, as well as a pending determination of another case on a constitutional challenge related to Singapore’s drug laws.
Once permission is granted, the PACC application must be made to the Court of Appeal within 3 days from the date of approval.
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
