KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Lawyer N. Surendran has slammed the Singaporean government for taking Malaysian citizen Prabu N. Pathmanathan to a photoshoot before the latter’s execution this morning.
He said the practice was “macabre”, and did not absolve Singapore from carrying out the capital punishment despite pleas for leniency.
“I personally find it very macabre. To dress someone up in new clothes and take smiling pictures, only to murder them by hanging is twisted.
“Doing these things does not make hanging people any better. Singapore should just stop executing people,” he told Malay Mail.
Several photos of Prabu prior to his execution have been posted on the Facebook page of anti-death penalty advocacy group “We Believe in Second Chances”.
The post had stated that Prabu told an unnamed friend and his brother, among the last people to visit him, to convey his hope urging people not to be involved with drugs.
He appeared calm in the photos where he was wearing a blue T-shirt and a white headwrap.
Some pictures show him posing with a smile, holding a copy of the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita.
Surendran said he is unaware if Prabu’s family gave their consent for the photos to be circulated, but neither did they object to it.
“I’m not sure what are the thoughts of the family on this. They are too deep in grief over the hanging. The photos were dealt with at the Singapore side. But they don’t object to it,” said Surendran.
Singaporean journalist-activist Kirsten Han, also part of the advocacy group, posted on Twitter that the prison had asked Prabu’s family to bring him civilian clothes about a week prior to the execution.
“From what I know, the prison asks the family to buy/bring the inmate civilian clothes, then they do a photoshoot at some point in the week before execution. The photos are then given to the family,” said Han.
Malay Mail is seeking clarification with the Singaporean authorities over the photoshoot, and whether it is standard practice.
Prabu was convicted for committing several acts preparatory to and for the purposes of trafficking in 227.82g of diamorphine.
