KUALA LUMPUR: The family of former death-row prisoners, brothers Rames Batumalai and Suthar, are demanding answers from the Home Ministry on the execution of the duo.
They are seeking an explanation from as to why the duo had been executed despite a pending clemency application.
They also want to know the manner in which Suthar was executed and how he died, to determine if the hanging had followed procedure, failing which they would consider pursuing legal action.
B. Devi Balbir Sarki, 44, who was met at a press conference here today, claimed Suthar's neck was not broken and face was swollen, suggesting the possibility that the latter died due to strangulation.
“His face was swollen there were red marks on his neck but his eyes were bulging. Even those conducting the rituals for noticed the difference,” she said.
Devi who is the duo’s sister in law however admitted that the family did not get a post-mortem done.
The 44-year-old had travelled with the duo's mother, A. Parvathi, as well as their siblings Kumar and sister Shanu from Negri Sembilan to seek justice.
Lawyer N. Surendran who represents the family said the authorities have one week to answer the family.
“Failing which we will consider pursuing legal action,” he said, claiming that the manner in which Suthar's body was found suggested the possibility of a botched execution.
The two brothers, had been given a last-minute reprieve from a scheduled execution in February were hanged on March 15 instead.
Their families were handed a letter two days prior to the hanging notifying them of the execution. They were told to visit the two for the last time on the very next day.
Surendran said the family required a detailed explanation from the Home Ministry on why the execution was conducted before the outcome of the clemency petition which was filed in late February was made known.
“From a legal point of view, both of them were executed without exhausting all legal processes. A prisoner, who has been convicted, has the legal right for his clemency to be considered under constituency.
"If you don’t allow the process to finish, you have breached the law,” he said, while adding he had not come across a case like this where the execution had been carried out while a clemency petition was still pending.
He also called for the authorities to conduct inquiry on the brothers’ execution while adding that the family deserved immediate answered.
“I hope the home minister and authorities respond to this as soon as possible as it is a case of public interest as it affects everyone charged with crimes related to the death penalty,” Surendran said.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM) executive director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said the hangings raised questions on the transparency of the death penalty in Malaysia.
“Legal processes around death penalty are not completely clear. This is clear indication, it is not (transparent),” she said, adding that the no one knew whether there was a breach of standard operating procedures in the execution or what were the procedures followed in first place, as such information was not particularly available.
Shamini further called for the government to implement an immediate moratorium to prevent similar issues from cropping up in the future.
She said that there were 1,068 prisoners on death row as of March 2017, with 70 per cent of them facing the sentence due to drug related offences. Forty per cent of the overall prisoners are also foreign nationals.