Please sign this petition to ask for Pannir's life to be spared.

Please sign this petition to ask for Pannir's life to be spared.

Started
24 June 2019
Petition to
President of the Republic of Singapore
Signatures: 17,155Next Goal: 25,000
Support now

Why this petition matters

Our beloved brother Pannir Selvam is currently on death row in Singapore. We, Pannir’s family, urgently appeal to all Malaysians, Singaporeans, and global citizens to help us save his life. 

Please sign this petition to ask for his life to be spared.

Background to case
Pannir was arrested at Singapore’s Woodlands Checkpoint in 2014, and charged with smuggling 51.84g of heroin. He was sentenced to death by Singapore’s Courts in 2017. 

This is Pannir’s first conviction. Before this, he had never been accused or convicted of any crime. The news of his death sentence came as a complete shock to our family, and devastated us. 

We are a family of six siblings from Ipoh, of modest means. Like many other Malaysians, our brother worked hard to survive - toiling as a lorry driver, salesperson and security guard. Pannir would always send money home to support the family - especially for his younger sister Angel’s school fees - and he often skipped meals to do so. In Johor Bahru, far away from home and isolated, an associate took advantage of Pannir’s desperation and turned him to the path of being a drug mule. 

For this mistake, Pannir is being sentenced to death. 

Pannir has co-operated fully with the authorities. He’s supplied important information to Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau, at immense risk to himself and our family, to disrupt drug trafficking in Singapore. Despite this, he was refused a Certificate of Cooperation from Singapore’s Public Prosecutor that would have saved his life. This decision broke our hearts. 

Please help save our brother.
Pannir has been reflecting on his actions in prison, and expressed deep remorse about what he has done. He has become a man of faith: reading, self-studying, and following political news. If given a second chance at life, Pannir hopes to educate others on drug abuse prevention, and support prison reform programmes. 

Our family are at our last hope. We have sent four petitions for clemency directly to Singapore’s President, begging her to spare Pannir’s life. All four petitions were denied. We and a team of volunteer lawyers are currently appealing to Singapore’s Courts to save Pannir, and we need your help. 

The death penalty is unspeakably cruel and robs a person of their dignity in life. Until Pannir’s life is saved, we will feel no peace. Should Pannir die, the guilt of being unable to save him is something that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. 

In the best case scenario, Pannir will spend life in prison in Singapore. But at least he will have a second chance.    

Your support could be our family’s last hope. Please join us in urging the Singapore government to spare Pannir’s life. Show your support by signing this petition.


Media Coverage of Case:

For more information, visit https://www.savepannir.info/

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2019/05/23/singapore-court-of-appeal-grants-stay-to-pannir-selvam/

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/05/18/surendran-urges-spore-to-spare-msian-drug-mule-citing-strong-grounds-for-clemency/
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/476872

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/05/18/singapore-punishing-mules-but-not-drug-lords-group-cries-as-another-malaysi/1754178

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/06/28/pannir-selvam-the-ipoh-boy-on-singapores-death-row-part-i/1766230

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/06/28/how-a-malaysian-family-turned-detectives-to-save-their-son-brother-on-singa/1766266

Context on the death penalty for drug offences.
As the world executes fewer prisoners in recent years, Singapore remains one of only 4 known nations that executed people for drug offences in 2018 (China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore). Amnesty International reported that 400 executions have been performed in Singapore since 1991, with 13 taking place in 2018.

One of those awaiting this fate is Pannir Selvam from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. 

The death penalty is justified by the Singaporean government and other nations elsewhere as an effective deterrent of crime, despite mounting evidence stating otherwise. For more information on why the death penalty is cruel, click here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/

 

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Signatures: 17,155Next Goal: 25,000
Support now
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Decision-Makers

  • President of the Republic of Singapore