“If my son made big bucks as a drug smuggler, why were we in such a dire situation after his arrest? Why am I still breaking my back doing manual labour at my age?”
– Lakshmi Amma (Datchinamurthy’s mother)
A group of young Singaporeans have taken to social media to call for death row prisoner Datchinamurthy Kataiah to be pardoned. These youths include instagram users @4.44.02, @aquaticblack_, @elijahtaypeng, @nshdkshyn, @sachi.wagh, @bowlie and @sgbrownqueers.
These young Singaporeans are acting as individuals, unaffiliated with any groups or organisations. They began their campaign shortly after the Singapore state executed Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam on 27 April 2022.
Nagaenthran, a Malaysian man with an IQ of 69, was arrested on 22 April 2009 and charged with importing 42.72g of diamorphine. His story caught the attention of news outlets across the globe and in Singapore, a petition calling for his pardon reached over 100,000 signatures.
Letters to the President of Singapore
“I do not feel safer knowing that Nagaenthran has been executed,” wrote @aquaticblack_ in their letter delivered to President Halimah Yacob on 28 April 2022:
Seeing Nagaenthran in a lifeless body was especially heartbreaking… Seeing his amma (mother) in pain was incredibly painful. It’s not fair.
Please spare Datchina and his family this pain. The death penalty is cruel and inhumane.
In Instagram posts spaced out over the course of a few days, these young Singaporeans posted pictures of themselves holding their clemency letters addressed to President Halimah Yacob. On the subsequent slides, they posted photos of the contents of their letter to the Singapore President.
For those who cannot go to the Istana to deliver the letter to President Halimah themselves, @sachi.wagh has said that they can deliver other people’s letters on their behalf:
Please sign and share this petition; let’s do everything in our power to #SaveDatch (see next tweet)
Those unable to physically deliver their letters to the Istana but wish to do so, please DM me your name for the template or your own original letter pic.twitter.com/Ie4yAiiTG7
— Ratlet the First 🐀✊🏽🏳️🌈 (@sachi_wagh) May 9, 2022
Some of these brave young persons were also involved in the letter writing exercise opposite Changi Prison hours before Nagaenthran’s execution.
Regardless, thank you to everyone again for all the beautiful, touching and heartfelt messages you’ve sent. They will be passed to Nagaenthran’s family tomorrow, as they had already left for Ipoh on Monday. pic.twitter.com/RxwDG7W0Ea
— Ratlet the First 🐀✊🏽🏳️🌈 (@sachi_wagh) April 27, 2022
Petition calling for the pardon of Datchinamurthy’s death sentence
On 10 May 2022, they created a petition which by 14 May had reached 868 signatures.
The petition opens with the following lines:
Datchinamurthy a/l Kataiah worried about his family’s circumstances and felt responsible for pulling them out of poverty. He dropped out after secondary school to work to support his family’s expenses. He is a disciplined, selfless person who has so much to give – he has told his family that if he were to be freed, he would reach out to vulnerable youth to make sure they don’t get into trouble as he did. While on death row, Datchinamurthy has turned to God to find strength in all this darkness. He has written many worship songs while in prison that he dreams of turning into an album.
Datchinamurthy is a compassionate man with a burning desire to live and to give. He was misguided into committing a non-violent drug offence.
Please sign and share this petition to oppose the execution of Datchinamurthy: https://t.co/4Wdz8ZXJu0#SaveDatch
— Elijah (@elijahtaypeng) May 10, 2022
The petitioners have also provided some further steps that interested persons can take to help raise awareness and effect change.
Members of the public who write into the President are encouraged to upload a photo to their social media platforms with the hashtag #SaveDatch. Those who require templates for letters may take reference from the following links.
Link for templates and examples for letters:https://t.co/gAN3Ek8YOg
Donate to @tjc_singapore: https://t.co/12fIlXAvMS pic.twitter.com/H0MoW7yXS1
— Ratlet the First 🐀✊🏽🏳️🌈 (@sachi_wagh) May 9, 2022
Signing petitions, at face value, and especially in light of the recent executions of Nagaenthran and Abdul Kahar, may seem like an exercise in futility. But, as left.sg eloquently puts it, every time we sign a petition, we are in the process of building up the momentum and organisation we need to eventually chuck this archaic practice into the dustbin of history.
The young people behind this petition, who gathered organically in light of Nagenthran’s execution, are unanimous in their opposition to the death penalty. As @aquaticblack_ put in their caption, “Let’s all continue to press on and move towards abolishing the death penalty.”
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