A 39-year-old Malaysian will be hanged in Singapore on Thursday for trafficking 45 grams of heroin into the city-state.
Datchinamurthy Kataiah was arrested in 2011 and convicted under Singapore’s drug laws. The country mandates death sentences for trafficking over 15 grams of heroin or 500 grams of cannabis.
Prison officials notified Kataiah’s family on September 21 that the execution would take place at Changi Prison. His original 2022 execution date was postponed after a legal challenge, but Singapore’s courts rejected his final appeal in August 2025.
Third Malaysian executed this year
Kataiah becomes the third Malaysian and eleventh prisoner executed in Singapore since January 2025.
His sister Rani wrote in a letter that while her brother accepts his conviction, she considers the death penalty “excessive and severe for a young man’s naive actions.”
International pressure mounts
The United Nations has called for Singapore to reserve capital punishment only for “most serious crimes” like intentional murder, not drug trafficking. Rights groups argue the mandatory sentencing prevents courts from weighing individual circumstances.
Malaysia’s human rights commission SUHAKAM has pressed the Malaysian government to intervene. Transformative Collective Justice and other advocacy groups held a joint media conference highlighting Kataiah’s case.
Anti-death penalty activists contend Singapore’s drug laws disproportionately target lower-level traffickers and couriers rather than major dealers.
Singapore’s position unchanged
Singapore defends capital punishment as necessary to deter drug crimes and protect public safety. Authorities have not issued additional statements about Thursday’s execution.
Activists will hold a solidarity rally at Hong Lim Park on September 29.
