IPOH: "We accept that Nagen is no longer with us even though we are not satisfied with the sentence."
These were the words of Sharmila Dharmalingam, 36, after her 34-year-old brother, Nagaenthran, was executed in Singapore early today for a drug trafficking offence.
The mother of three said the family were at a loss for words.
She said her family was not satisfied with the sentence as the deputy public prosecutor didn't ask her family about the reason they wanted to appeal.
"We were already appealing, but the deputy public prosecutor didn't ask the reason why the family was appealing the court decision.
"He only focused on who is assisting our family for this kind of appeal.
"We are not satisfied with Nagen's sentence. We are very sad, but we are only normal people, we don't know how to channel our feelings (of dissatisfaction).
"We feel mad, but we are just ordinary people. When we filed for an appeal, they asked us who helped us and whether there were any lawyers in the family," she said when met at her home in Taman Indah in Tanjung Rambutan here, today.
Sharmila said on behalf of her family, she would like to thank Malaysians as well as Singaporeans who had never stopped supporting them.
"Our family would like to say thank you to everyone who has been helping, supporting, and praying for Nagen. In fact, Singaporeans and others have helped in this aspect.
"It is hard (to accept the loss) but what can we do? In the end, we need to accept that he is no longer with us," she said.
Sharmila added that her 60-year-old mother, Panchalai Supermaniam, was on the bus to return to the country when the execution happened.
"She is too distraught… we are trying to get her to talk and have a meal too," she said, adding that the funeral is expected to take place on Friday.
Reports today said Nagaenthran was executed earlier today in Singapore after a last-ditch legal challenge by his mother had failed in a high-profile case that attracted international calls for clemency.
Nagaentharan, an intellectually-impaired man with an IQ of 69, was on death row for more than a decade for trafficking 44g of heroin into Singapore.
His case had drawn the support of foreign personalities including British business magnate Sir Richard Branson as well as actor and writer Stephen Fry, who sent out a strong plea to Singapore to spare his life.
It had also drawn criticisms from the United Nations Human Rights Office, which had called on Singapore to also halt all executions and abolish capital punishment.