Drug offender's appeal to reopen case dismissed

[General Veers]

Drug offender's appeal to reopen case dismissed
By Imelda Saad | Posted: 10 January 2012 1951 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore's highest court has dismissed a criminal motion filed by a man facing the gallows after being convicted of drug trafficking.

Ramalingam Ravinthran and his accomplice Sundar Arujunan were arrested in 2006 for bringing into Singapore enough drugs to receive the mandatory death penalty.

But while Ramalingam faces the death penalty, his accomplice Sundar was charged with and convicted of trafficking in a smaller amount of drugs.

Sundar received a 20-year jail term and 24 strokes of the cane.

Ramalingam's lawyer, M Ravi, challenged this sentence.

He had sought to have his 53-year-old client's death sentence set aside and replaced with a non-capital sentence.

In its decision delivered by Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, the Court of Appeal found that the evidence presented did not support Ramalingam's contention that his accomplice Sundar, was more culpable than him.

- CNA/ck