Singapore delays appeal hearing on disabled man’s execution

By ANNABELLE LIANG
Associated Press

SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore’s top court has postponed the appeal hearing for a Malaysian man on death row believed to be mentally disabled, after he was diagnosed with COVID-19. The 33-year-old Malaysian man was scheduled to be executed by hanging on Wednesday for trying to smuggle a small amount of heroin into the country — less than 43 grams (1.5 ounces). Singapore’s top court on Tuesday said it was ordering a further stay on the execution until the appeal hearing could be held, following on a lower court’s similar order the previous day. Death penalty opponents say the convicted man’s IQ of 69 was disclosed during an earlier lower court hearing, a level that is internationally recognized as an intellectual disability.