KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 – The family of Malaysian death row inmate Pannir Selvam Pranthaman has today submitted an appeal to the Law Society of Singapore to address his legal complaint before his scheduled execution this week.
According to Singapore-based activist group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), the family argued that Pannir should be allowed to see through his complaint against his former legal counsel Ong Ying Ping, which is currently under review.
“Pannir is the complainant and material witness in this complaint. Given the nature of this complaint, if Pannir is killed, the complaint will almost certainly be dismissed because the main witness will be unavailable.
“We believe that Pannir has a right to see his complaint through and to seek redress. Despite this, the Law Society has remained silent over Pannir’s execution,” Pannir’s sister Sangkari Pranthaman said in a statement on behalf of his family.
The family also raised concerns that at least two other death row inmates who had filed similar complaints against Ong had been executed without any response from the Law Society.
They urged the society to prevent further injustices and ensure accountability for legal professionals handling death penalty cases.
The family claimed that Pannir was pressured into signing a legal document that led to him representing himself in court, despite them having paid Ong to continue handling his case.
They alleged that they made multiple payments to Ong, amounting to over RM23,000, but were unaware that he would later withdraw from representing Pannir.
“We paid Ong despite financial difficulties because we were desperate to give Pannir the best chance he could have to live,” the family said.
The complaint against Ong was lodged in October 2024 and was referred to a review committee by the Law Society in January this year.
“When will there be justice for Pannir and our family?” the statement concluded.
Pannir, a Malaysian national, was convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore and has been on death row since 2017. His execution is scheduled for this Thursday.
His family and rights activists have made repeated calls for clemency, arguing that he was denied a fair legal process.
TJC is organising a vigil for Pannir tomorrow night at the Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park, Singapore.
