On September 25, 2025, Singapore carried out the execution of Datchinamurthy Kataiah, a 39-year-old Malaysian national, for trafficking nearly 45 grams of heroin into the city-state. The event, which unfolded with a brief and unexplained postponement on the morning of the scheduled hanging, has reignited fierce debate over Singapore’s unwavering use of the death penalty for drug offenses—a policy that stands in stark contrast to evolving norms in much of the world.
Datchinamurthy’s case has been a lightning rod for activists, legal experts, and international observers for years. Arrested in 2011 at the Woodlands Checkpoint, he was charged with trafficking 44.96 grams of diamorphine (heroin), a quantity well above Singapore’s mandatory death penalty threshold of 15 grams. According to court records reported by SAYS.com and Berita Harian, he was sentenced to death by the High Court on April 15, 2015. His appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on February 5, 2016, sealing his fate under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act.
But the path to his execution was anything but straightforward. Originally slated to be hanged in April 2022, Datchinamurthy’s execution was postponed at the last minute after the High Court granted a stay to hear his civil suit against the Singapore government. The suit alleged improper disclosure of his private letters by prison authorities to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, raising concerns about his rights as a prisoner. The Straits Times reported that the stay was granted on April 28, 2022, a day before his scheduled execution, pending resolution of the legal challenge. However, this reprieve proved temporary: in August 2025, the court dismissed his challenge, clearing the way for the sentence to be carried out.
The events of September 25 added a final, bewildering twist. According to his lawyer, Surendran K. Nagarajan (widely known as N. Surendran), the family was informed after midnight that the execution, scheduled for dawn at Changi Prison, would be halted. “We have no further information at this point. We are praying for the best outcome,” Surendran told the media, as reported by the South China Morning Post and Free Malaysia Today. Yet only hours later, Singapore’s prison authorities reversed course, notifying the family that the execution would proceed and requesting they collect Datchinamurthy’s body within two hours. No reason was given for the brief postponement, leaving his family and supporters in a state of shock and anguish.
The Singapore Central Narcotics Bureau confirmed the execution in a statement, asserting that Datchinamurthy had exhausted all legal avenues, including petitions for presidential clemency. The bureau emphasized the scale of harm posed by the drugs he carried, stating, “the amount of drugs he carried could feed the addiction of about 540 people for a week.” The statement further defended the policy: “Capital punishment is imposed only for the most serious crimes, such as the trafficking of significant quantities of drugs which cause very serious harm, not just to individual drug abusers, but also to their families and the wider society.”
For critics, however, Datchinamurthy’s final hours embodied what they see as the cruelty and futility of Singapore’s approach. Surendran, speaking on behalf of the family, condemned the process as “an act of cruelty unsurpassed even in the history of Singapore’s harsh death penalty regime.” He added, “To pretend to give a reprieve to Datch, raise his hopes and his family’s hopes, and then to plunge them into horror and despair again, is unforgivable and uncivilized.”
Anti-death penalty activists and human rights organizations have been vocal in their opposition to Singapore’s continued use of capital punishment for drug offenses. Candlelight vigils were held in both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in the days leading up to the execution, as reported by the Associated Press and The Rakyat Post. More than 30 civil society groups reiterated calls for Singapore to halt executions, arguing that the death penalty disproportionately targets low-level traffickers and couriers, rather than the kingpins of the drug trade. Amnesty International, in a 2023 article, described Singapore’s stance as “cruel and ineffective for drug control,” stating, “There is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs.”
The United Nations Human Rights Office also weighed in back in 2022, expressing concern over the executions of Datchinamurthy and fellow Malaysian Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam. The UN called on Singapore to review its drug laws and halt the use of capital punishment, urging a shift toward policies that align with international human rights standards.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) urged its government to exhaust every diplomatic and legal channel to protect citizens facing execution abroad. The commission called for regional and international mechanisms to be mobilized and pressed Malaysia to continue advocating for the abolition of the death penalty both regionally and globally. As reported by SAYS.com, SUHAKAM’s intervention was part of broader efforts to support the estimated 40-plus people currently on death row in Singapore, many of whom are Malaysians convicted of drug offenses.
Singapore’s government, for its part, remains unmoved by such criticism. Officials have repeatedly argued that strict drug laws, including the mandatory death penalty, are necessary to deter trafficking and protect the nation from the social harms of narcotics. The Central Narcotics Bureau insists that capital punishment is reserved for only the most serious crimes, and that it plays a vital role in safeguarding the community.
The legal landscape in Singapore is particularly unforgiving. Trafficking more than 15 grams of heroin or 500 grams of cannabis carries a mandatory death sentence, leaving judges with little discretion. Attempts by foreign legal experts to intervene, such as the applications by British and Australian King’s Counsels to represent Datchinamurthy and other prisoners in their appeals, were rejected by the Singapore High Court in January 2024, according to The Rakyat Post.
Despite the international outcry, Datchinamurthy’s execution marked the 11th in Singapore in 2025, surpassing the nine executions carried out in the entire previous year. He was the third Malaysian to be executed in the city-state this year, and activists warn that more executions are imminent for others whose appeals have recently been dismissed.
As the debate continues, Singapore stands firm on its position, even as countries across the globe move away from the death penalty and toward drug policy reform. The stark divide between the city-state’s hardline approach and the mounting calls for change ensures that the controversy will not fade soon. For the family of Datchinamurthy Kataiah, and for advocates on both sides of the issue, the events of September 25 serve as a somber reminder of the high stakes and deep emotions bound up in the struggle over life, death, and justice in modern Asia.
