Court Cases
Death row inmate Pannir Selvam seeks stay of execution amid final clemency efforts
Malaysian death row inmate Pannir Selvam Pranthaman has requested permission to file a PACC application for a stay of execution, with a court hearing set for 19 February. His execution is scheduled for 20 February 2025. Civil society and international organisations continue to push for clemency in his case.
SINGAPORE: Malaysian death row inmate Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, who is scheduled for execution on 20 February 2025, has submitted a request to file a Post-Appeal Clemency Challenge (PACC) application seeking a stay of execution.
A check on the Singapore court hearing list indicates that his application will be heard on 19 February at 4pm before Justice Woo Bih Li at the Court of Appeal.
According to the notice, Pannir will represent himself in court without legal counsel.
The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) recently notified Pannir’s family of his execution date and granted them additional visiting hours leading up to his scheduled hanging.
Final push for clemency
With just a day remaining before the execution, Singaporean civil society, Malaysian lawmakers, and international organisations are making last-minute appeals for clemency.
They have urged Malaysia to take “immediate and decisive action” to advocate for Pannir, who has exhausted all legal avenues since his sentencing in 2017.
Pannir’s family has also continued their efforts to halt his execution while seeking accountability for alleged legal misconduct by a Singaporean lawyer involved in his case.
They have lodged a complaint with the Law Society of Singapore, claiming that no meaningful action has been taken. As time runs out, they continue to press for intervention.
His case has drawn increasing attention from human rights organisations and activists, with a candlelight vigil planned in his memory on Wednesday night.
The event will also honour the 12 individuals executed in Singapore over the past year under its capital punishment laws.
Activists, supporters, and members of the public opposing the death penalty are expected to attend.
Legal battle and past appeals
Pannir was arrested on 4 September 2014 at Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore with 51.84g of heroin.
He was convicted of drug trafficking on 27 June 2017 by the Singapore High Court and sentenced to death.
Although he was found to be a courier, he was denied the Certificate of Substantial Assistance (CSA) because the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) determined that his information was neither new nor useful.
His legal team argued that Pannir should have been granted the CSA, as he had provided significant intelligence on his recruiter.
This information led to the arrest of Zamri—who operated under the alias “Jimmy”—on 14 October 2014. However, the Court of Appeal upheld the prosecution’s decision, ruling that Pannir’s information was not actively used in drug enforcement operations.
Debate over Singapore’s drug laws
Now 37, Pannir has spent nearly a decade on death row. During his time in prison, he has expressed his experiences through poetry, songs, and letters.
His case has reignited discussions over Singapore’s strict drug laws, which impose the mandatory death penalty for trafficking over 15g of heroin unless specific conditions are met.
